Gimme Shelter
by storyshark2005
Summary: Two people from opposite emotional extremes collide and the results are...interesting. Perry Cox and Elliot Reid find themselves in a dysfunctional love/hate relationship. One thing's for sure- they're gonna need shelter from the storm.
1. Face the Music

**Gimme Shelter**

**Chapter 1: Face the Music**

**Storyshark2005**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing…don't sue.**

**Hey guys, this is my first Scrubs fic. Hope you enjoy it. Read, review, and I'll take any suggestions you got! I'm just tired of sub-par writing and the lack of quality Cox/Reid fics out there, so if I put my foot in my mouth with this one, don't hesitate to tell me. However, if you like it, I'd appreciate you telling me also. I'm thinkin' this probably takes place in one of the early seasons, before Cox gets too involved with Jordan, and before Keith shows up.**

***

Dr. Elliot Reid gripped the steering wheel harder, watching her knuckles turn white. She could see Sacred Heart peeking over the rows and rows of parked cars stretching out before her as she gazed through the hole she had scraped into her frosted windshield over 30 minutes ago; new ice was starting to crystallize and close in the ragged edges. She had turned off the heater, and the bitter cold was starting to settle over her body like an icy blanket. She watched her breath as she shakily exhaled, patterns forming and swirling, then disappear into the frigid, still air of the car.

_On the count of three…one… two…………three._

Nothing.

She just couldn't do it. She couldn't bring herself to open the door. Every time she got to three…nothing happened. It was as if her brain had turned on some sort of safety mechanism, like a 'body lock' to keep her from stepping through the doors of that hospital and facing what she dreaded most: her life.

Well, to be more specific, a certain person _in_ her life. She saw him every day. Now, most days his aloof, uncaring and asshole-like demeanor didn't really bother her that much. Sure, she had cried in a storage closet a couple of times, but she was getting used to the 'Lookit Barbie, save it for someone who cares' comments and three minute rants about her utter uselessness.

But not today. She just couldn't do it today. She could NOT face him.

Why today? Well, it was an issue that stemmed from the events of last night. Half of which she could not remember, the other half leaving her face burning in embarrassment and slamming her head into the steering wheel hissing 'FRICK! FRICKITY FRICK FRICK FRIKIN' FRICK!'

It was not just a mistake. It was the biggest mistake she had ever made in her entire life. She had slept with JD; that was a mistake. She had slept with her Human Anatomy and Physiology professor; that, (although she did pull a 98% in the class), was also a mistake. Sleeping with Dr. Cox….well, that was beyond a mistake. It was beyond stupid. It was in an entirely different realm of idiocy. It was…..unfathomably, incomprehensibly, inexplicably, inconceivably and absurdly dumb.

Thankfully, no one else knew about it…yet. Dr. Cox was still semi-involved off and on with Jordan, and JD was another issue entirely (she had a feeling he still liked her more than he should). If either of those two found out, especially Jordan, she would never be able to face any of them again. In Jordan's case, it would probably be because she'd be dead…

But today she still had to go in there and do her job. The thought of her job was what made her take one more deep breath, push open the door, and step out into the cold wind. Freezing rain stung her cheeks and nose. She shouldered her bag, looked up at the imposing exterior of Sacred Heart, and started toward the entrance.

As she walked, her brain drifted to the events of the previous night, and of that morning.

* * *


	2. The Mistake

Gimme Shelter

Chapter Two: The Mistake

Storyshark2005

* * *

It had been a shit day at work.

Last week, one of her patients, Mrs. Fergusen, a forty-year-old mother of three, had been showing some odd symptoms: shortness of breath, fatigue, and lack of energy. That could point to one of a million disorders.

Finally, after several tests came back, the worst was confirmed. Sherry Fergusen had Pulmonary Fibrosis- terminal, and almost impossible to treat. Her best prognosis was, at maximum, five years.

The worst days were giving news like that. The shock and disbelief on the faces of the woman and her family- Elliot knew it would be hard to forget.

And then, this morning, Mrs. Fergusen died from hypoxemia and infection of the lungs. She hadn't lasted a week.

Walking back towards her car in the frigid night, Elliot's thoughts were dwelling on her late patient. The only thing she was looking forward to that evening was the bottle of Pinot Noir in her shared apartment. Turk and Carla were back at their apartment, and JD was still at the hospital on call; she was alone for the night.

She unlocked her car door, got in, and sat down in the cold, dark interior. Resting her head back against the seat, she closed her eyes and tried to forget the day.

A shouted curse, and what sounded like someone kicking metal, started her from her half-sleepy trance. Not catty-corner and two more cars away was Dr. Cox, visible in the glow of a nearby security lamp. Looking very pissed off, he kicked at the tire, fumed for a few moments more, then collapsed back against his car, sliding down to sit on the pavement, out of view except for a few locks of curly hair, which remained visible over the hood of the next car.

Half concerned, and half worried for her own safety, Elliot stepped out and looked over her car door.

"Dr. Cox?" she yelled.

The only response was a pathetic sigh and someone banging his head back against the car.

Elliot slammed her door shut and, shoving her hands deep into her pockets, cautiously approached, her heels clicking hollowly on the asphalt.

Perry Cox was seated with his arms resting on his knees, burning a hole in the pavement in front of him with his smoldering gaze.

"Dr. Cox, are you alright?"

She waited a few seconds for the inevitable stinging retort to come flying her way, but the middle-aged doctor remained silent.

Gulping, she decided to push her luck a little further.

"Look, do you need some help…or, I don't know. You need a jump or something? I've got some cables in my trunk."

He raised his patent 'crazy eyes' look to Elliot, and she immediately knew she was in danger. _Ok, real smart, Elliot. Just go ahead and poke the bear…._

"I locked my keys in the car." He continued to stare at her intensely, but said nothing more. She paused.

"Oh." She didn't really have much else to say. What could she do?

"Well, can't you call Jordan? Does she have another key? She could at least give you a ride. Unless, I don't know, I could give you a ride. If you want. I mean, I know we're not really friends or anything, but it _is_ pretty cold out and you really shouldn't be out here for too long without a coat, but of course you know that because you ARE a doctor – well, so am I, but-"

"BARBIE!" She shook her head.

"What?"

"You were doing that thing again, where you move your mouth and something comes out. Now, I know you and Newbie find your own little nerdy conversations about as fascinating as your weird pasty sex, but you've just re-HE-ally got to remember that I just hear this high pitched waaaaAAAHHHING in my ears and I just get this, this AWful headache every time one of you kids opens your yap-hole, so if you could do me a favor and try to limit yourself to single-syllable words, that would be just fabulous."

"But-"

"That was one!"

"Doctor Cox-"

"Barbie, are you _listening_ to anything that I'm saying? 'Yes', 'no', 'but', _those_ are acceptable. Monosyllables, Barbie."

The sight of him, just sitting there, on the ground, mocking her from his ridiculous position - it suddenly just pissed her off. Countless rants about her incompetence, her craziness, her hair, her boyfriends, her self-confidence, all came to the surface and echoed in her ears. That was it.

She took a few deep breaths, much to the amusement of Dr. Cox, and said, in a deadly tone which seemed to sober him up somewhat,

"FIRST of all, my name is not Barbie, it's Elliot, or, more appropriately for you, Dr. Reid. Secondly, you're sure in some position to be mocking me right now. Anything you say I can simply add 'says the pathetic middle-aged doctor sitting on the cold ground without a ride' and immediately the position of power here seems to switch. Because you know what, you have a phone and you _could_ call Jordan or, God help them, some other poor sap whom you call 'friend'. But instead you're getting your kicks making fun of me when I'm trying to help you. Which tells me either you have no friends, or you're scared of calling Jordan at one o'clock in the morning because you _know_ she'll be wearing your ass as a hat tomorrow if you wake her up. I've had a shit day. So either you need a ride, or you can shut the hell up, because I really don't need any of your crap today."

Dr. Cox's eyebrows shot way up his forehead, but, slowly, a sardonic grin crept into his features.

Elliot was not amused. "What?"

Dr. Cox bit back another grin.

"You know, Barbie, as much as it pains me to say it, I could use a drink right now. Because, yes, I could call Jordan, but then I'd really rather avoid getting my blood sucked out by either her or one of her vampire minions tonight. And I'd hate to drag her out here anyway, seeing as its nearing dawn and, well, you know how she gets at that time of the morning, turning to dust and all in sunlight. Plus, she needs her un-dead beauty sleep and, well, resurrecting her always pisses her off when she's all snuggled up in her coffin."

It was Elliot's turn to be shocked.

"Did you just ask me to go have a drink with you?"

"No, Barbie, I asked you to give me a ride to the bar so I can get drunk alone. Now, if you'd care to drown your own problems in the bottom of a shiny cocktail glass, that's your issue. However, if you order an appletini, I _will_ kill you. That is a promise. I have to tolerate Newbie prancing around the hallways smelling like apples enough as it is, and I swear to Aisha if I have to smell one _or_ see one outside of his girly little proximity, I will hurt someone."

And that's when Elliot saw an opportunity: an opportunity to get closer to Dr. Cox, help out her career, AND get JD jealous at the same time.

"Is a razztini still on the table?"

* * *

And _that_ is how Elliot found herself sitting at a bar with someone she never thought she would share a drink with. He was a surprisingly good conversationalist. Well, not too surprising; she knew that he was intelligent and quick witted – it's just that she was used to hearing everything he said come out as an insult.

Not that he had dropped the sarcasm. Eighty percent of what he said was sarcastic. However, after his third scotch and her fifth razztini, Perry (yes, she had tried that out after his second scotch and he hadn't objected, so she decided she might as well call him that while she had the opportunity. Sober, he would've torn her a new one.) started to open up about his problems with Jordan. How he was starting to have feelings for her, the mutual sabotage of their relationship, and the fact that she was now pregnant with some other asshole's baby.

"You know," she said after a while, "Ihm beginning to get th'feeeling that JD still likes me. I mean, he HAD hisschance, an he just screwed up. You know donchyou find that sex jus ruins everything?" Her voice had started to slur and climb to a higher, squeakier pitch. "I mean, we were just sex buddies and that was great untilee just HAD to have more. I mean, why? Get emosshh- emot- eMOTIONally involved at all? Its usually the girl who connectssex and emoshhuns. Butthis time its JD."

He finished off his drink and ordered another one. "No, Barboo, I do not find that at all. On the contrary, I find sex makes everything ten times better. I love sex. Sex it great. Great great great great great great great great ggreaaaattt great. Fantastic. And _of course_ Marsha is the girl in your relationship! SHE'S A GIRL, for GOD'S sake: why does no one else see it?"

"I see it."

"See what?"

She paused.

"I don't remember." Elliot snorted and collapsed in a fit of giggles, which grew higher and higher in pitch until she started to screech and other people started to turn and stare.

Perry, now also laughing, threw some money down on the counter, took Elliot by the elbow, and helped her off the barstool.

"Hokay, Barbie-"

"IT'S ELLIOT!" she yelled.

"Elliot, whatever, I think you've had enough for tonight; I'd better get you home." He started to guide her towards the door, but one of her heels slipped sideways. He caught her around the waist and grabbed her arm, pulling it over his shoulder to support her weight.

"Good God, Barbie, what have you been eating?" She snorted.

"You sound like my mother." That sent her into another fit of giggles, which made it increasingly difficult to drag her across the parking lot.

Perry stopped and tried to blink several times, clearing his vision.

"Where's the car? I don't remember where we parked." She looked sideways up at him.

"Why don'chyou sounddrunk? You had like, FIVE HUNDRED scotches. You're as drunk as I am."

"I can hold my liquor, Barbie. Ok, there's the car."

They started towards the car, but Elliot couldn't seem to take a proper step without tripping, which sent her into more snorting and giggles. Cox finally got tired of it, pushed her to arms' length, and threw her on top of his shoulder.

"WWWHEEEEEEEEE!" Her blonde head bouncing up and down, she started to sing, "DR. COX, HE DOES TO ROCK, HE IS THE MMAAAAAANNNN! HEY, THAT RHYMES, PERRY!! WOOOOO, IT RHYMES!"

He plopped her down and knelt down to her waist to search her pockets for keys. Resting her hands on his shoulders, Elliot played with his jacket collar, running her index finger down the skin where his shirt and shoulder met. He looked up questioningly, and that's when she did it. The stupidest thing she ever could've done.

She leaned down and kissed him.

She didn't know why she did it. Later, she suspected it was a combination of her problems with JD, alcohol, the moonlight….well, mostly the alcohol.

But all she could think of at that moment was how good it felt.

She fell down to his level when he brought his hands up to cradle the sides of her face. Deepening the kiss, she first ran her hands though his hair, then let one slide down his chest to rest on his abdomen. He groaned and leaned forward, pushing her against the cold metal of the car.

Somehow, they managed to extricate themselves for the five minutes it took to drive to his apartment.

They could barely get up the elevator. As soon as he got the door open, he threw the keys across the room and pulled her into another heated kiss. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she threw her leg up onto his hip, then the other one. He slammed her back against the wall, running his hand down her thigh.

She managed to mumble 'shirt' between kisses, and he briefly leaned back to throw his shirt off. She could feel the heat radiating off his skin, smell the alcohol on both their breaths….

She didn't remember much after that.

* * *

She DID, however, remember the next morning.

Breathing deeply, Elliot cracked her eyes open to blinding light, quickly shutting them again.

Something upon which her arm was resting rose slowly, then fell to the sound of breathing. She also noticed she was warm, extremely comfortable, and naked.

Cracking her eyes slowly open to adjust to the morning light, she slowly lifted her head and turned to reveal-

_Oh, dear God…_

She was lying in the arms of Dr. Cox, their feet tangled, his arm around her waist, hers on his chest, her head resting on his shoulder. She slowly lowered her head down again, and very carefully turned to rest on her side with her back to him.

She lay there, paralyzed with shock. A splitting headache started to pound its way to the front of her brain.

Suddenly, a deep breath sounded from Dr. Cox, and, exhaling, he turned towards her, onto his side, readjusting his arm to lie lazily around her waist. Eyes still closed, he mumbled into her hair "…get some sleep, Barbie: it's not even morning yet," his breath puffing blonde strands into her face.

Her fear melted somewhat. He felt so warm, the bed was so soft…maybe a few hours more sleep would do her good. The flashing warning 'YOU'RE IN BED WITH ' began to recede to the back of her head, as did her headache.

She felt her chest rise and lower with his, felt his thumb rub absently against her hip. Her lids began to feel very heavy against her eyes….

And she was asleep.

* * *

The first thing she was conscious of several hours later was her pounding headache. The second thing she noticed was that she was cold.

Her eyes flew open. An unfamiliar ceiling fan swung in circles above her head, fanning a cool breeze across her bare shoulders. Cold white sheets were wrapped around her waist. Propping up on her elbow, she searched the empty bedroom.

He was gone.

* * *

The reality of her situation began to sink in. She had slept with Dr. Cox. No big deal - so she had slept with Dr. Cox…she had _slept_ with Dr. Cox. Oh my God…she had slept with Dr. Cox! Oh God, oh God, HOLY FRIKIN' FRICK! SHE HAD SLEPT WITH DR. COX!

She scrambled around the apartment, pulling her jeans on, tripping, grabbing her bra, pulling her shirt on, getting her head stuck in the hole at the top, running into a table and falling over, grabbing her heels…

It went on like that for a while.

She double checked all the rooms to make sure she was alone. Thank God she had a late shift today - she still had time to drive back to her apartment and change. As she was admiring his flat screen TV, she heard someone at the door.

Someone was pushing a key into the lock... OH SHIT…she ran across the room to the nearest closet, yanked open the door, and quietly closed it just as the front door swung open. Elliot pressed her eye to the crack between the closet door and the wall.

"PERRY?"

_Oh God, it's Jordan…_

Jordan made her way into the kitchen. _Boy, she's puttin' it on…_She must have been about three or four months pregnant by now. Elliot watched as Jordan picked up a piece of paper on the counter, and let out a breath as she put it down. Then she walked across the living area to the bedroom, peeked in, and shook her head, muttering, 'Poor Perry, different slut every night.' She went out of sight for a few minutes, then reappeared with a box of stuff and headed for the door.

After Jordan was gone, Elliot waited a full ten minutes before tip-toeing out to peer out of the window down onto the street below. She spied her own car parked across the street. _God, I hope Jordan didn't see my car…_

Elliot grabbed her jacket and keys and quickly ran for the door. Passing the note on the counter, she skidded to a halt to pick it up.

It was handwritten.

_Don't worry about last night, it didn't mean anything._

_-PC_

Something heavy seemed to sink to the bottom of her stomach. She knew she should be relieved that it hadn't led to anything complicated like emotions, but she couldn't help feeling a little bit, well…_used_. Cheap.

_Gee, thanks, Dr. Cox: this'll do wonders for my self-esteem._

She shoved the note into her pocket, grabbed her keys and left.

* * *

**Author's Note: thanks to all my reviewers! Hopefully this longer chapter made up for the first pitifully short one. Next chapter? Elliot goes back to work.**

**Thanks, Storyshark :D**


	3. Strong Women

Gimme Shelter

Storyshark2005

Chapter 3: Strong Women

'**Opposites can attract, as in magnetism. Or explode, as in matter and antimatter.'**

**- Peter David**

_Oh God_…

Perry Cox quickly ducked into the nearest patients' room, grabbing the chart outside the door and burying his nose in the data as he did so, waiting for a certain female resident to pass by. After seeing the flash of blonde cross the doorway, he peeked out and waited for her to turn the corner.

_This day is gonna be hell..._

It wasn't that he was afraid of her, or even that he was feeling awkward about the previous night. He just didn't feel like talking to her. Or hearing her voice. Or seeing her cry. Or being in her presence_whatsoever_. Ok, so maybe he was feeling a _little_ awkward.

It wasn't like this was the first time he had slept with someone at work. He had his flings with other doctors, a few residents, heck, even an intern or two. And of course there was always Jordan. Jordan, the board member's daughter. God, that had been fun when it was forbidden by her father….those were the days.

Now, Jordan was just a giant angry monster who lumbered down the hallways of Sacred Heart, spreading fear and ripping everyone's face off. Speaking of the devil …

"PERRY!"

Perry cringed and turned, tossing the chart back into its place outside the door and starting toward the nurses' station, Jordan on his heels.

"Jordan, I've had a hell of a night-"

"I'll bet you have: I went by your apartment this morning."

His witty retort was caught in his throat. Perry wheeled around, almost bumping into Jordan's enormous belly.

"YOU WHAT?!"

She scoffed.

"Oh, come on. You know I have a key; it's never been a big deal before. I just came to get some of my stuff that I left over there last weekend."

"Yeah, but I had someone OVER last night, you can't just barge in-"

"Relax: she was gone by the time I got there. It's a shame, I love giving your little sluts a little scare, you know? Give 'em the old 'GET OUT! DON'T YOU KNOW HE'S MARRIED!' routine… hehe; you know, Perry? Come on, you used to think that was hilarious!"

His eyes narrowed.

"N-no, Jordan, I NEVER thought that was funny. I recall YOU thinking that was funny; _I_certainly never did."

"Oh, well, whatever; I don't care. Hey, I _am_ going to be coming over tonight, though. It's been a week since I've had sex, and Jordan is getting horny and angry."

Perry rolled his eyes.

"As great as that sounds, Jordan, I'm gonna have to take a rain check this time, Mm-Kay? Angry pregnant sex is just na-HAWT on the schedule tonight."

Jordan fumed for a few seconds.

"Look, Perry, I don't know what kind of delusion you've been under for the past few years since we've been apart, but you should know by now that when I _want_ sex, I _get_ sex. It's not really a choice on your part."

"Jordan, if you want booty call, you're getting' it somewhere else tonight. I had mine last night, and I really can't deal with you right now. So I'm going to go to work, and I don't want to see you for the rest of the day."

He turned away from a very pissed off Jordan. He knew he'd have to deal with her tomorrow or the next day, but it felt good to get her off his back for now. With the whole Barbie situation, it was one less problem to deal with.

* * *

Eight hours, six patients, three surgical consults, one surgery, and several minor procedures later, Dr. Cox was about to kill either himself or someone in his immediate vicinity. He had been juggling patients, dealing with Newbie, AND avoiding Barbie. Jordan had been calling his cell every ten minutes, and he was pretty sure he had at least eight or nine angry voice mails from her.

He dragged his feet up to the Nurses' Station and let his head smack down onto the counter in front of Carla. She put her chart down and regarded him with a mix of concern and barely contained amusement.

"Dr. Cox, are you having a rough day?"

"Yes," he mumbled into the counter.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He looked up tiredly.

"You know I don't talk about my feelings; I keep them bottled up tight, where they belong."

She gave him a disapproving look.

"Perry, you look like hell. It's not Jordan, is it? I know it's got to be hard, dealing with her pregnancy and all-"

"No, it's not her." He looked around, and spotted JD across the room. "NEWBIE!" he whistled and beckoned him over. J.D. put down his chart and strode over, smiling.

"Yes, mentor? What can I do ya for?"

Clenching his jaw, Perry chose to ignore the 'mentor' comment. Grabbing his stack of charts, he shoved them into JD's arms.

"Here - take these for a couple hours; I'm taking a break." JD frowned, but turned and left to see to his new patients, mumbling incoherently as he wandered off.

Perry turned back to Carla.

"Come on, I need to talk to you."

"But I can't! I've got work to do. Can't we just talk here?"

"Na-HO, we cannot. Not with her around." He directed a pointed glare at Laverne, who glared back.

"Fine, but just for an hour, tops."

He led her down the hall to the on-call room, which was currently empty. Shutting the door, Carla turned and crossed her arms. "Ok, what's up? You never come to me to talk like this. I usually have to twist your arm to get anything out."

He slid down the wall, burying his face in his hands.

"I've made a huge mistake Carla. I slept with someone I shouldn't have." Carla's eyes widened and a grin started to spread across her face before she quickly hid it.

"Who?!"

"Ok, first of all, I don't know if I should tell you anything, because once you leave this room, you and Nurse Roberts there are going to have this all over the hospital before lunch, and I really don't need that right now."

"What?! You think I can't keep a secret?!"

"Uh, yeah, Carla, pretty much. Look, I really need you to be my friend here. You're one of the few people I can stand in this place, and for once, I actually need to talk to you; I feel like I'm going to explode if I don't. I don't know why, I've always been fine bottling everything up before. Jesus, I'm going soft, I can feel it…"

Smiling, Carla sat cross legged in front of him.

"Look, I can tell you're serious. TELL me. It'll be between you and me."

Perry sighed, and rested his elbows on his knees. "It's not just that it might get out. It's…well, it involves someone…close to you."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Close to me? What do you mean, like a friend?"

"Well, yeah. Lookit, she….well, I was drunk, she was drunk, it got out of hand-"

"Perry, who? Who did you sleep with?"

"Oh, God. Do you PROMISE me you won't freak out and do one of your angry Latina numbers on me? I'm really killing myself over this, Carla."

"For the last time, I WON'T tell anyone and I won't get mad at you."

He closed his eyes, and dropped his head back into his hands.

"I slept with Barbie."

There was silence for a moment. Dr. Cox peeked through his fingers at Carla.

"You're not kidding, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

"You….slept with Elliot…" It was more a statement than a question, as if she was trying to right it in her own mind. Finally, she spoke again.

"YOU SLEPT WITH ELLIOT?!"

"SSHHhhh! For God's sake, Carla, keep it down! What the hell? I told you not to freak out!"

Carla's mouth was making funny sounds as Perry tried to catch her flailing hands. He finally got her under control and put a hand over her mouth.

"Carla, I need you to understand and listen to me here, OK? I'm serious. I've put myself in a tricky situation here, and as one of my only actual friends, I need your help. Do you think you can control yourself if I take my hand off your mouth?"

She glared at him, but nodded. He tentatively removed his hand.

"Perry, you've done it now," she steamed. "How could you do that? What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Well, between the six glasses of scotch and Barbie kissing me? Honestly, not much."

"She kissed you first?"

"Yeah. I was trying to give her a ride home, and she just grabbed me. What the hell was I supposed to do?"

"Uh, I don't know, maybe just put her in the car and give her a ride home?"

"You really don't get men, do you?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Look, Elliot is my best friend."

"Well, right now, you're my only friend. I need you here, Carla." She crossed her arms.

"So…."

"'So' what?"

"So why is this such a big deal? How is this different from Kristin or Julie or any of the other women you've slept with?"

"It's not…"

"So why are we having this talk?"

Perry cocked his head to the side. The truth was, he had no idea.

"She's just….all the other women I've slept with have been different. Stronger. I've always been attracted to _strong women_. Elliot is just…not, you know? How did this happen?"

Carla raised her eyebrow at his use of Elliot's real name, but chose to ignore it.

"Well, it sounds to me like a lot of alcohol was to blame. But I don't think Elliot being weak is the reason we're talking about this right now."

"And why the hell do you think we are?"

She smirked,

"You're just gonna have to figure that out yourself."

"Oh, c'mon Carla. You LOVE telling everyone what their problem is. The one time I ask you to tell me what mine is, you back down? What the hell?"

"Perry, Elliot is my friend. And all I'm gonna say is that you better not hurt her, and that's not just for her sake; it's for your own. You may not see her as one of your 'strong women', but she is. Maybe you haven't seen it yet, or maybe it's just because she hasn't made you feel like shit the way the other ones do, but she is just as strong as they are. It's a different kind of strength. And maybe the reason you fall for all the other ones is because you're trying to hurt yourself. When you were married to Jordan, you were miserable. You still are. You say you love her, and maybe someday you will again. But, baby, you will _hate_ her too. You will, because you've already been through it. As much as you love her, you hate her, and then you hate yourself, and both of you end up destroying one another. It's too much ego and too much hate for one couple to handle. Elliot is a sweet girl. She's beautiful, she's passionate, she's smart, and as much as you hate to admit it, she's a great doctor and a strong woman. So maybe that's why you're attracted to her. But you're afraid because she has the potential to make you feel good about yourself, and you won't let that happen, because you _love_ to be miserable. That's your problem."

Perry sat there for a moment, letting her words soak in. Carla, breathing heavily, turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

He had a lot to think about.

* * *

He had sat there in the on-call room for another half hour or so, until he finally just got sick of thinking and feeling and decided to go drown his problems in his work. He only had a few hours left to go.

"Carla."

She still looked a little flustered, but answered politely.

"Yes, Dr. Cox, what can I do for you?"

He rolled his eyes.

"Cut the crap, Carla. Who's on call tonight?"

She glanced down at her schedule, smiling.

"Bambi's up to bat and you and Elliot are on deck."

"Ne-ooohh God, are you kidding? The only thing worse than having Newbie run the place is having to be on-call with Barbie." She gave him a look.

"Maybe this is a good opportunity to apologize to her. You've been avoiding each other all day."

"Dr. Cox!" JD was balancing a stack of charts, his pager was beeping, and he had such a pitifully desperate look on his face that Cox just had to take pity on him. He grabbed the top stack and nodded at JD to go answer his page.

He had a lot of work to catch up on.

* * *

Perry stumbled into the on-call room four hours later, exhausted. He had decided not to go home - he was _way_ too tired to drive home, and, besides, Jordan was probably waiting for him and he could NOT deal with that tonight.

Speaking of things he couldn't deal with….

Barbie was sitting on one of the far bunks, a pink puppy clutched in her arms, sniffling.

_Oh God, she's crying…why why, why-why why why ME?_

Still clutching the door knob, Perry glanced back at the hallway, towards safer waters. He could always crash in the cafeteria, or find an empty room somewhere. Or, actually, Janitor had the keys to Bobbo's office. _Now that's an idea…_

"Dr. Cox?"

His head whipped back around to the sound of her voice, small but steady, now free of sniffles. Giving an enormous sigh, he closed off his door to freedom and strode across the room to sit on the opposite bunk, facing Barbie.

He sat there for a few seconds, staring at his hands and avoiding her reddened eyes.

"Look, Barbie,"

"Could you please, at least when you're not mocking me, call me 'Elliot'? Or at least 'Dr. Reid'? I'm getting really sick of being referred to as a stupid plastic doll."

He grinned.

"Don't tell me you never played with Barbies, B- er, Elliot. Or that 'cha still don't."

"No, actually, I gave them all away when I moved out. My mother used to pick them up when I was little and explain to me that 'I could look like that if I ate less ice cream'. I shoved them all into a bin under my bed when I was 10 and never played with them again. But then Barry and me used to play Wonder Twins so I wasn't too disappointed. Have you ever seen that show? Its like these two teenage superheroes who can change into anything and they'd just shout out 'FORM OF A LION' or something, and I always wanted to be Jayna but Barry got to pick first… well, now that I think about it, that explains a lot, but ANYway so I was always Zan, but Barry would melt me and-"

"Elliot."

"-and then I'd have to change back into water, but HE would always change back into a dragon and I was like 'YOU CAN'T BE A DRAGON TWICE IN A ROW' and he was like 'YEAH, WHATEVER, PUDDLE OF WATER' and I was like-"

"BARBIE!"

Mildly offended at his interruption, she sputtered,

"W-what?! And I told you not to call me that."

"Good GOD Bar- sorry- Elliot, I mean, do you even realize how sad that just was? I really am NOT interested in any of your depressingly disturbing childhood memories, which seem to explain why you are a borderline clinical schizophrenic. Now, do you need to talk to me, or can I try and get a few hours of sleep before I have to go back to my apartment where the black widow herself is just waiting to pounce on me and suck the life out of me before eating my soulless shell of a body to feed her freak offspring whom she is supporting with my paycheck?"

Elliot looked slightly sick for a moment.

"Ok, that was disgusting. But, yes, I think we should talk."

Cox was silent for a moment.

"About what?"

"What the hell do you mean, 'about what'?!" Her voice started to rise to a hysterical pitch. "Are you so insensitive that you're just going to totally ignore what happened last night? You've been ignoring me all day, that's for sure, and I don't know if it's because you're uncomfortable or because you hate me or because you find me ugly or annoying or you can't stand anyone knowing that we slept together?! I mean, sure, I don't remember a lot but I DO remember it was GREAT, not to overinflate your ego, and I realize it doesn't mean that we're in a relationship or anything, but did it mean NOTHING to you? God, am I that bad?! It's just-"

Perry could feel a pounding, insistent pressure forming at the back of his head. His eyes started to un-focus as her high pitched voice punctuated his headache with loud, annoying bursts. He couldn't take it anymore….

'ELLIOT!'

She stopped at the sound of her name. She had become hysterical, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

"Elliot, Jesus, would you calm down?"

She sniffed, nodding.

"Ok, kid. Lookit, we made a mistake with all this. You and I, we don't exactly work well together. But I don't think you should freak out. I mean, c'mon, yeah, the sex was great. Fantastic. But we're doctors and we have to come to work every day and leave all of this at the door. No, it was not nothing. And Christ, Elliot, stop saying you're ugly, I mean, look at yourself! Any girl would kill to have your body. You need to grow a backbone and get some self-esteem. You're smart, you've got a great job, you're beautiful…"

He paused, waiting for her to say something. He frowned. "C'mon, how am I doin'? Any of this making you feel better? You know I can't stand the waterworks…" He lifted her chin with a finger. "Huh? How 'bout it, kid?"

She let out a laugh, raising her blue eyes from the floor, still tearing a little but no longer crying.

"Fantastic, huh?"

He smiled and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

"That's my girl." He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Now, how 'bout a couple hours of sleep?"

She nodded and lay back down on her bunk, grabbing her pink puppy, and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, her breathing lengthened, and she was in a deep, restful sleep.

Perry, lying on his own bunk, closed his eyes too, but thoughts and dreams played beneath his eyelids, refusing to let him sleep.

He awoke from a restless sleep a few hours later and watched the sunlight filter its first pink rays through the blinds of the single window in the room. The pinks, oranges and yellows played on Elliot's face and soft sheet of blonde hair.

Sighing, he decided to head home. His shift started in eight hours.

He leaned down to Elliot, tucking a strand of hair behind one ear. Biting his lip, he quickly strode to the door, quietly shutting it behind him.

* * *

**Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews so far! Also, I'm currently looking for a beta reader, so if anyone is interested, PM me or something. I'm not exactly sure how all of that works. Also, how am I doing on characterization? Any suggestions? Reviews make updates more frequent…(hint hint)******

* * *


	4. Carla Knows Best

Gimme Shelter

Chapter Four: Carla Knows Best

Storyshark2005

"_Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open."_

_Alexander Graham Bell_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*SIX MONTHS LATER*

----------------------------------------------------------------

Breathing deeply, Perry opened his eyes to soft gray light filtering in through his apartment window.

He loved this part of the day. His shift started in a few hours, but right now, all was quiet. The lull before the storm. He turned his head to see the bare back of the woman beside him, the woman who had caused his so much grief, pain…and happiness, once.

She turned her head, letting a few brown bangs fall into her eyes. Jordan. God, she was beautiful.

And yet…

His chest felt empty. He _remembered_ loving her. But - and he had to admit it to himself - he was no longer in love. And now he had to take care of that kid…

Jack. No matter how much Perry tried to convince himself that Jack wasn't his son, that he wasn't a father, that he didn't truly care…he couldn't. He loved Jack.

And that disturbed him. Perry Cox? A father? No…he never pictured himself as a father. And the reason was simple: he was scared. He was scared he wouldn't be a good father; that Jack would end up hating him as much as he hated his own father. That he would end up turning into some drunken loser who beats his kids and throws beer bottles at his wife. He _did_ take some comfort in the fact that Jordan had the balls to leave him if he ended up like that. She wouldn't take any of that shit.

That was a lot more than he could say about his own mother. She would just watch as he and Paige got beaten from room to room, crying in a corner. Never ONCE had she done anything about it. God, he hated weakness like that.

_5:57_

_5:58_

_5:59_

Perry watched the green numbers on his alarm clock dispassionately flip, minute after minute. He knew that stupid buzzing alarm was going to go off any second …hell, he might as well get up now.

He reached over and clicked the switch over. Pulling the covers off, he stood slowly, trying not to rouse Jordan.

"Don't bother trying to tiptoe around, I'm awake," she murmured into her pillow. "Besides, any minute now, Jack is going to start screaming for his breakfast."

As if on cue, the baby monitor crackled to life and Jack's muffled fussing and crying disturbed the still grey air of the bedroom.

"Fantastic." She pushed herself up against the headboard and leaned her head back, yawning. Another impatient scream from Jack pulled her straight out of bed, and shutting the baby monitor off, she quickly walked out of the room to quiet the baby.

And so the quiet grey morning turned bright and yellow, full of energy and babies and mothers…

Pulling a t-shirt over his head, Perry sighed. _This is gonna be a long fuckin' day._

* * *

Flipping back the pages of her patient's chart, Dr. Elliot Reid shook her head and sighed.

" Mr. Hughes , your sodium levels are through the roof and your cholesterol is not good. You have hypertension, so you really need to cut out the cheeseburgers and fries three times a week. If you lose thirty pounds, I think you'll find yourself coming in here a whole lot less."

"But, Doctor, c'mon, I have three kids. We eat at McDonalds almost every day! What am I supposed to eat?"

"You could try a salad once in awhile."

"I hate salad."

"Well, Mr. Hughes, that's your choice. Anyway, I'm giving you a prescription for more Aldacton, but you need to make some serious lifestyle changes."

She flipped the chart closed and headed for the Nurses' Station.

Maybe that wasn't the most inspiring interaction she'd ever had with a patient, but Mr. Hughes had been in twice within the last eight months or so, both times for his blood pressure. He'd come in the last time with his pulse racing, nausea, headache, dizziness and blurry vision. The next time would probably be a heart attack. She was not in the perkiest mood.

Up ahead, she saw Dr. Cox leaning over the counter, talking to Carla.

He looked _really_good this morning…He was grinning broadly, which, if you only counted genuine smiles, was a rare occurrence. Sure, he was always making fun of people and teasing and ranting, but those were sarcastic, fake smiles. A genuine smile…oh, was it beautiful. It lit up his blue eyes, and the corners crinkled slightly, in a very cute way.

And NO one could make scrub pants look good like Dr. Cox…mm hmm.

_God, Elliot, control yourself! You sound like Laverne…_

He glanced back towards her, still smiling. She averted her eyes as he turned back to Carla, clearing his throat. Grabbing a chart, he thanked Carla and strode off down the hall.

Reaching the Nurses' Station, her eyes remained glued to his retreating back.

"Elliot?"

She shook her head.

"What?"

Carla's brows furrowed and, glanced back over her shoulder, she caught sight of the object of Elliot's gaze.

"Ah…" She hid a smile and turned back to Elliot, who had buried herself in a chart.

"Is Mr. Janney's WBC really that interesting?"

Flipping a page, she looked up.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing. The blood test results are back on Mr. Cartwright."

She handed another chart over. While Elliot scanned the paper, Carla observed her blonde friend. She looked tired, frazzled. While this was always a common look for doctors and residents to have, Elliot usually didn't let it show this much.

"Elliot, are you ok?"

Not looking up, she muttered a

"Yeah, why?"

"You look like hell."

No response.

"Why are you avoiding Dr. Cox?"

That got a reaction. Elliot's blue eyes widened under her fringe of blonde bangs.

"What!? What the hell do you mean by that? I haven't been ignoring Dr. Cox. I don't even know- GOD, I don't know what the frick you mean….besides if anyone has been ignoring somebody, HE'S been ignoring ME-"

"Elliot, calm down. Look, I need to talk to you. Do you want to get a drink tonight?"

"Talk to me about what?"

"You'll find out. Can you give me a ride there?"

"Sure, I guess." Elliot grabbed her charts and headed off to see to her patients.

* * *

"Baby, I'm gonna be a little late tonight. Me and JD are gonna be the world's tallest doctor tomorrow and we need to find one of Chet's coats. He changed his locker combo so we have to dig through the laundry."

JD set his tray down next to Turk.

"Yeah, Chocolate Bear, but this time we gotta change it up a little bit. People don't seem to be as scared of Giant Doctor as they used to."

"How about I get to be on top this time?"

Carla rolled her eyes at the obvious double entendre.

"World's Tallest Black Doctor? That could work…"

"Damn right it could!"

Carla tuned out the juvenile conversation as she spotted Dr. Cox sitting down by himself a few tables down. She picked up her tray.

"Guys, I need to go talk to Dr. Cox."

"'Kay, Baby." He puckered out his lips and closed his eyes expectantly. Carla gave him a quick smooch and started towards Dr. Cox. He looked up as she set her tray down.

"Getting tired of Gandhi and Farrah?"

"Oh, would you stop? Look, have you talked to Elliot lately?"

"Who?" he feigned a look of confusion.

She glared.

"Oh, Barbie! No, why would I have talked to her lately?"

"Well, what the hell happened there? You were all worried about it the day after, and then you decide to ignore her for six months?"

"Nothing happened there. It was a one night stand; it was a mistake. I try not to dip into the company ink too often."

"That's bullshit, Perry. You do it all the time, and Jordan's a board member."

"That's different. I don't have to work with Jordan every day."

"Maybe. But you can't just ignore Elliot like this. It's killing her."

"Well, what the hell am I supposed to do? We've been working fine together."

"Yeah, but you're pretending like it never happened."

"And what's wrong with that? I see absolutely nothing wrong with pretending. I do it all the time. Like when I go home tonight and pretend I don't have a problem with my ex-wife living with me. It's easy."

"Very funny, Perry. The problem with that is you're only half joking. If you don't love Jordan, you have to tell her. You can't just live the rest of your life feeling obligated to love her."

"Look, I have a kid now. I can't just leave Jordan - she needs me."

"Perry, you owe it to her to tell her how you feel. Jordan sure as hell doesn't need your pity, and she doesn't need you pretending you love her. She deserves better than that."

He threw his fork down and dropped his head into his hands.

"What about Jack?"

Carla bit her lip.

"Now, that's more complicated, but it's something you need to talk to Jordan about. You love him, Perry, and you're a good father; you have every right to stay in his life if you want to."

He was silent for a good minute or so.

"It was a mistake."

"What was? Are we still talking about Jordan?"

"No, Elliot."

He stared down at the table, unsure what to say.

"It was just…purely physical. She's a good looking girl. It was just about the sex."

She pursed her lips.

"You keep telling yourself that. Maybe eventually you'll believe it."

He groaned. He opened his mouth to say something, then decided against it. Instead, he picked up his tray and stalked off.

Carla smiled to herself. _Oh, he has it bad…_

_* * *_

Turk watched as Dr. Cox dumped his tray and walked heatedly from the cafeteria. _Man, he looks pissed. What did Carla say to him?_

He turned to JD, who was watching Dr. Cox leave.

"You still haven't told him yet, have you?"

JD shook himself from his fantasy.

"Told him what?" Turk lowered his voice.

"You know, about his kid? Does he know it's his?" JD shook his head.

"No, I haven't told him yet. I don't know how."

Carla sat down.

"Told who what yet?"

Turk nearly choked.

"NOTHIN' baby! Here, have some cake…"

* * *

"Elliot, if there's something you want to tell me, you know I'll listen."

Elliot gulped down the rest of her beer and signaled to the bartender for another.

"What did you need to talk to me about, Carla? I need to get some sleep."

"I know what you're hiding from me, Elliot. I'd rather let you tell me before I spring it on you."

"I'm not hiding anything, Carla."

Carla sighed,

"Ok, fine. I know you slept with Dr. Cox."

Elliot choked halfway through a gulp of beer and had to spit it back into the glass. Still coughing, she managed to choke out-

"WHAT?!"

"He told me what happened. What I want to know is why I had to hear about it from Perry before you. I thought we were friends, Elliot!"

Elliot set her beer down.

"Look, Carla, we are. But I didn't tell anyone about it because some things are my business. Besides, I didn't want you to tell Turk because JD would find out and then it would be REALLY awkward."

"I wouldn't have told Turk if you didn't want me to."

Elliot rolled her eyes.

"Please, Carla, you can't hide anything from Turk. You guys tell each other everything."

"I can keep a secret when I need to."

"We'll see, I guess."

The two women were silent for a minute. Carla shifted in her chair.

"So…."

"What?"

"Don't give me that. You know I want details! Tell me everything…."

"Carla!"

"Elliot, if you don't tell me, I'll tell JD."

"Ok, now that's just ruthless…"

"You know you want to tell me just as bad as I want to hear it."

A smile slowly spread over Elliot's face.

"Ok, so maybe I have wanted to tell someone…but you HAVE to keep this between us."

Carla grinned.

"Spill it, girl!"

"Well, so we were pretty drunk…"

* * *

Two hours and many beers later, Carla's eyes were wide as she leaned back in her seat.

"Wow."

Elliot sighed.

"I know. I've been reliving it over and over again, and I can't figure it out. He told me it was a mistake, but it's like a door has opened up, and I know it's open, and I'm pretty sure he knows it's open, and every time I'm around him I can just feel this energy, and I can't STOP thinking about him. It's awful."

"Elliot, you need to talk to him."

"About what? About how I want to carry on an affair with my boss, who's living with his ex-wife and her illegitimate son, whom he's raising as his own? It's ridiculous, Carla. Besides, he's like ten years older than I am."

"Who the hell cares? Dr. Cox is hot and so are you. What's to stop two attractive people from getting it on?"

Elliot buried her face in her hands.

"Oh, God, it sounds so weird. I slept with Dr. Cox, and I have a crush on Dr. Cox…"

"Hey," Carla pulled Elliot's hands down. "He says a lot of things to keep people from getting too close. You've got to crack that bulletproof shell he's wrapped himself in. It's not easy, Elliot, but if you want something to happen here, you've got to help him. Chances are, he wants this just as bad as you do, but he's not going to be able to do this on his own."

"So what am I supposed to do now?"

"You could start by talking to him again."

* * *

**A/N- Hey, big thanks to everyone for your reviews, alerts, and favorites! You guys are awesome! Now, hit that button if you want to see some Cox/Elliot interaction next chapter. I know I cheated you guys this chapter, but that just builds the tension. Good 'ol Carla is gonna try her hardest to make this relationship happen! And what about Jordan? I know I've left JD in the background, but I'll write him in a bit more soon. REVIEW FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, I'M BEGGING YOU!!! You see this machine, this beautiful writing thing here? Well, it runs on props, so give it to me, come on….**


	5. It Ain't Me, Babe

Gimme Shelter

Storyshark2005

Chapter Five: It Ain't Me, Babe

_You say you're looking for someone, who'll pick you up each time you fall._

_To gather flowers constantly and to come each time you call._

_A lover for your life and nothing more,_

_But it ain't me, babe. No, no, no, it ain't me, babe. It ain't me you're looking for._

_-Bob Dylan_

JD watched, leaning against the nurses' station, as his best friend and dream girl, Elliot Reid, checked on a patient. He sighed. She was so beautiful. How the hell had he let _that_ slip through his fingers? Maybe if he hadn't gotten so attached and ruined their sex buddy relationship…

A sharp whistle tore through his left ear.

"I swear to God, Cheryl, if you don't get your head out of whatever cute-intern induced girlish fantasy you're in right now, I will, and this is a promise, make you cry."

Still cradling his ear, JD winced and glared at Dr. Cox.

"You know, that really hurts - I think I tore an eardrum…"

"Then maybe you'll be able to ignore all the catcalls those naughty doctors are throwing your way and actually DO your job, as hard a goal as that may seem."

Cox shoved a chart into JD's arms and walked off without any further explanation.

Brushing off the usual Cox-treatment, JD turned to greet his best friend as she hurried back to the nurses' station.

Elliot threw her chart back up on the counter and ran down the hall after Dr. Cox, sweeping past JD without a word or a hello.

_That was rude…_

Shrugging, John Dorian glanced at his chart and went off to see his patient. He decided he would mention it to her at lunch, before she left for the day.

* * *

_Ok, here's your chance…_Elliot's mind had been racing all morning, running through possible conversation starters and segway lines. They were all pretty bad. '_Yes, sir, you've got a fair chance of beating this. Hey, Dr. Cox, speaking of afFAIRs of sorts…'_

But there was no time to think of something better to say. Her shift was over in a couple of hours, and she wanted to get this done today. She knew if she didn't do it now, she'd never work up the courage to do it.

Catching up with him, she tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, Dr. Cox, can I have a minute?"

He let out an annoyed grunt and continued walking.

"Dr. Cox, I REALLY need to talk to you."

"Barbie, I reHEaly don't have time for this."

"Ok, when is a good time?"

"Um, let's say half past never-gonna-happen. That's right after I give Carol a hug but before I kiss Bob's ass at not-in-a-million-years."

Frustrated, she grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop in the middle of the hall.

"Whatever your problem is right now, I need to talk to you. Now, if you have to check on a patient or something it can wait, but this is really important."

Perry opened his mouth to throw out his usual biting retort, but something in those defiant baby blues stopped him before a coherent thought could form. He sighed and glanced around, motioning her into the nearest empty patients' room.

The hum of the hospital was muffled as Dr. Cox closed the door. Suddenly, Elliot was painfully conscious of herself. Cox crossed his arms, staring at her expectantly. The rain that had started yesterday sounded against the one window in the room, and gray light filtered through the metal blinds.

"Look, we need to talk about what happened a few months ago."

"We talked about it the day after. I don't see why we need to talk about it any more - I think we both know it was a mistake."

"See, that's just it. WE never said anything. YOU did. YOU wrote that warm and fuzzy little note that morning, patted me on the head and told me 'don't worry about it, honey, it was all a big mistake'. I never got to say how I felt about it."

"FELT about it? Look, Barbie-"

"Elliot."

"Elliot, I don't know what you thought that was. We both had a lot to drink that night. And if you haven't noticed, I don't normally have a whole bunch of 'feelings' floating around, much less when I have five scotches in my system."

"Don't give me that. You may act like you're made of steel, but deep down inside you're just as depressed and lonely as everybody else. You just don't want to admit it."

"Admit it? Hell, I'll lay it down for you. In my apartment right now my ex-wife is taking care of 'our' kid, who happens to be the bastard son of some bellhop she screwed in Acapulco. I don't think anyone around here is under the delusion that I'm happy with my life."

"That's not what I meant and you know it. That night, that wasn't just a one night stand. And it wasn't a mistake. I want….more. And I think you do, too."

"Look, baby, if you want to fool around once in awhile, that's another issue entirely."

Elliot lowered her eyes and swallowed, trying to control her humiliation and embarrassment. She could feel tears threatening to surface, and sniffed to keep them at bay. She took a breath to keep her voice from shaking.

"Look, this isn't easy for me. I'm trying to tell you something, and I don't normally do this sort of thing. If you want to listen then just shut the hell up and listen. Otherwise, you can stop wasting my time."

He gave her a look, but was otherwise silent.

"I…like you. More than I should. I don't know why…I actually hate you. I know that doesn't make any sense but for some reason I haven't been able to get you out of my head lately. Normally I would just carry on, fantasizing like a crazy person, like I always do. Well, actually not always. I'm usually pretty forward. Like with this one guy I met a couple weeks ago, he was behind me in the line at Jimmy Chango's and I was like 'can I buy you a burrito?' and he was like 'sure, why not?' and then I said-"

"Barbie, I swear to God, if you don't get to the point-"

"OH! Sorry, I go off on those sometimes. Of course you know that. We've worked together for two years now-are you okay, your face looks kind of red- OH GOD, I'm sorry, I'm doing it again."

Elliot took a breath. Perry concentrated on lowering his blood pressure.

"Okay, so where was I? Oh, yes. So I suppose I'm being pretty forward. But this is even weird for me, and let me tell you, Perry, that is prETTY weird. Any-who, my point is I can't explain it. But I'm just sick of being alone since JD and I broke up. And I'm tired of feeling nothing when he looks at me and I know he wants us to be together. I want to FEEL something for a guy again. Maybe it's because I have to have a boyfriend or a man around or, like my mother used to say, 'Elliot, always keep a boy-toy around. It's good for relieving stress and revenge'. Not that you would be revenge. Or, actually, a boy-toy. That just doesn't sound like you, does it? Ha, for one thing you're not a boy! Oh, God, shut it Elliot-"

Elliot proceeded to 'curse' herself under her breath. _Frickity frik Elliot, what's wrong with you-_

"Elliot-"

"Sorry. I just think you should seriously think about what it is you want. Not what I want, or what Jordan wants, but what _you_ want. Although, in this case, I _would_ like you to think about what I want. But that's sort of besides the point."

He opened his mouth but closed it again, at a loss for the second time that day. She had an uncanny ability to do that to him.

"I'm going to walk out of here and never mention this again. If you decide you want to try this, this WHATever, you know where to find me. All you have to do is say the word."

She turned and walked out, shutting the door behind her. Perry still couldn't string a coherent thought together.

_What the hell just happened…?_

_* * *_

"Elliot!"

JD jogged to catch up with his blonde friend. She had just stepped out of the locker room, having changed into a t-shirt and jeans.

"JD…"

She looked exhausted and distracted. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, enhancing her haphazard appearance.

"Elliot, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just getting off."

"Look, do you want to grab lunch before you go?"

"Not today, JD. I need to go home and get some sleep. We can have lunch Friday. We're both working one to midnight, I think."

JD nodded, hiding his disappointment.

"Yeah. Yeah, sure, Elliot." He paused, watching her shift uncomfortably, kicking her sneakers on the tile.

"Look, Elliot…"

"What is it, JD? I need to get going."

"I just want to make sure you're OK. You've been distracted all morning, especially since you went and talked to Dr. Cox. He didn't say anything to you, did he?"

She sighed.

"I'm fine, JD. And Dr. Cox didn't say anything. In fact-"

"What?"

She shook her head.

"Nothing, JD. Look, I'll see you around."

She turned around and walked quickly towards the exit. He wanted to follow her, make her tell him what was wrong.

But instead, he just watched her walk out into the gray rain.

He was losing her.

_* * *_

Three hours after their conversation, Elliot had left for the day. Or, at least, Perry assumed that she had - he'd been avoiding her all morning in the hopes of not seeing her until her shift ended around noon.

He just needed some time to _think_. She was right about one thing: he needed to figure out exactly what it was he wanted. Jordan, Jack….something else?

The trouble was, between keeping the interns in check, hopping from patient to annoying patient, taking Bob down a notch and _especially_ keeping Doris from killing everyone she encountered with her 'Midas' Touch of Death', there wasn't really a whole lot of time to think.

He spotted Carla up at the station. She was currently leaning over Laverne at the computer, apparently trying to explain one of the many baffling attitudes that it tended to take whenever Laverne was at the helm.

"Carla-"

She looked up and blew her hair out of her eyes. Apparently, the explanation was not going well.

"What's up, Dr. Cox?"

Perry looked up.

"Apart from an appallingly dirty ceiling which has been neglected so severely by the janitorial staff of this hospital that it really is probably half the reason most people end up dying in here - not a whole lot."

"SOME of us here", interrupted the janitor, who had suddenly appeared, flanked by the dumb cafeteria chef and Randall, "respect the work of our colleagues enough not to insult them whilst passing by."

Cox turned, hands in pockets, completely disgusted.

"Excuse me? Do you work here? Because, although I _do_see you patrolling the halls with your little blue collar 'mod squad' gang, I've ne-_hever_ seen you do any actual work. Apart from, of course, tormenting Lisa, which actually I do enjoy… but you could at least drop the janitor uniform and the ridiculous pretense you're carrying around. Really, it would save the interns all the confusion, and honestly, they'd stop mistaking you for someone who is supposed to be _cleaning_ this hell-hole."

Dumb cafeteria man seemed to emit some sort of growling noise, but Randal put an arm in front of his knee.

"Don't do it Troy. He's not worth it."

The trio backed up, glaring. Janitor pointed two fingers at his neck, than jabbed his pointer in Dr. Cox's direction. '_Watch your back'_kind of thing.

"What the hell was that? Are we in the Russian mafia now?"

Carla rolled her eyes.

"You've got to lay off of those guys; they're just having a little fun."

"Why? What the hell do they do all day? Certainly not their jobs…"

"Whatever. Hey, did you talk to Elliot today?"

Perry opened his mouth to speak, but another voice interrupted him, instantly sending a shiver down his spine.

"PERRY!"

He cringed, turning to face Jordan, who was oddly smiling. She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on one cheek.

He looked at her suspiciously.

"What the hell is going on here, Jordan? Why haven't you dug your nails into the remaining shreds of my dignity? I swear to god, they're about to fall off, you might as well just take them while you're here."

"You know, it's not really working for me, either. Anyway, Jack's at the sitter's so I came to have lunch with you."

"Too bad; already had it."

Carla crossed her arms.

"No you didn't; you were just about to go. I'll watch your patients."

He turned to face her sweet smile.

"_Thank_ you, Carla, really. You're just so darn helpful today."

Her lips pulled back over her teeth.

"You're welcome, Dr. Cox. Anytime."

Jordan grabbed his elbow.

"Ready?"

He grunted and allowed her to lead him off to the cafeteria.

* * *

Perry stared into the depths of his coffee mug while Jordan prattled on about Jack. She didn't always talk this much, but ever since Jack was born, he was all she ever talked about.

She loved Jack so much. And, he had to grudgingly admit, she was a great mom.

Which bothered him. How was he supposed to father this kid? This kid, who wasn't even his? And now, with Jordan…he didn't know what he felt. He didn't know what he wanted. He felt like he didn't even know himself anymore.

"…and then I dressed him up in his sailor outfit again - which I know you hate – but, what the hey? I'll only get to do mess with his sexual identity for a couple more years."

She snorted, and looked at him, expecting his usual scathing interjection about how she was turning their son gay and ruining his life. But he continued staring into his cup, seemingly oblivious to Jordan's afternoon baby-gay-ifying escapades.

"Hey, what the hell is wrong with you? You could at least _pretend_ to laugh at my stories. You do realize you're the first adult I've talked to today."

"Is that why you're so chatty?"

"You would be too if your only conversation was with someone 12 inches tall who spit his food all over your favorite shirt and somehow manages to poop out more than he's physically ingested."

"The red one with the white flowers?"

She cocked her head to the side.

"What? No, I don't even think I have a shirt like that."

"I thought I'd try…"

"That's sweet of you."

"You're a bitch."

"You're a narcissistic bastard."

Perry cracked a grin.

"Jordan, we get along so well, don't we?" He looked up to meet her eyes.

Jordan, laughing, met his gaze. Something different…there was something in her eyes he hadn't seen in years_. God, she was really falling for him again_. And he wanted, _so badly_, to fall in love with her, too.

And that was the exact moment he knew he had to break it off with her.

It was also the exact moment he knew he never could.

His eyes fell back to the coffee.

Jordan's smile faded a little. She watched him, eyes scanning his bent form. He could practically _feel_her gaze raking over him as he concentrated even harder on his coffee.

"Who is she, Perry?" Jordan's voice was eerily calm, steady.

He looked up, caught off guard.

"What?"

She nursed her own iced coffee.

"You heard me; what is her name?"

A million excuses raced through Perry's mind at that moment. _It wasn't true… ok, it was true, but it was just a fling - it's not what you think._

But nothing came out. He was…speechless. And he wondered why this was. Why shouldn't he have an explanation? It was a stupid one-night stand; Jordan had had lots of those. Why was this any different? Why would _this_ stop him in his tracks?

Jordan bit her lip.

"Look, I know we're not married. You're free to have the occasional free fuck. But if this is something serious, you need to tell me."

She paused. He knew his silence was an admission of guilt, but he just couldn't…

"Perry, look at me."

His eyes were pulled up by the sound of her voice. She would always have that power over him.

"Look. I know you haven't been happy lately. I mean, even less so than your usual self. And I want to know why. Is it because of this girl? Me? Jack? What is it, Perry?"

"Jordan, I…I just don't know. It's not the girl, it's…" he paused, grasping for the right words. "I….I just don't know what I want anymore. Nothing is… nothing makes sense."

He ran his fingers through his hair.

Jordan looked down. Then gaze locked onto his.

"Do you love me?"

"What?! Yes, of course I do."

She took a deep breath.

"You know, I wish I could believe that."

"Jordan-"

"No, Perry."

His chest felt tight, painful.

"No, Jordan, I do-"

"God, Perry, why do you have to make this so hard? When I look you in the eye…I see nothing anymore. It's dead. Stop lying. Just stop it. I am sick and tired of waking up in the mornings wondering if you_really_ even want to be there beside me. You know I'm in love with you. But, Goddammit, I deserve a lot fucking better than you settling on me. So just cut the bullshit-"

Her voice cracked, and she roughly wiped a tear with the back of her hand.

"Jordan…" his voice was tortured.

She started to gather her things, shoving her phone back into her purse.

"Look, I love you. But I don't want you to follow me out of here unless you really mean it. And I mean _really_mean it, Perry. Don't you _dare_ do this to me again. I can't do it. Not again." She stood up.

He looked up at her, still leaning over the table. It was the only thing holding him up.

"Jordan….what about Jack?"

She didn't meet his eyes. "We'll talk about this later, Perry. I've got to get my stuff…do some thinking. I'm taking Jack to my mother's."

She looked up, breathing a little harder.

"Jordan…"

"I'll see you around, Perry. I won't be home tonight."

She straightened her skirt, turned on black stilettos, and strode out of the cafeteria, head held high.

* * *

Jordan pulled her high-collared black coat tighter around her body as she stepped out into the soaking rain. The grayness of the sky seemed to blend in and bleed with the asphalt and concrete spread out across the hospital lot. The world around her seemed dull, washed out like a somber watercolor painting that hadn't dried yet.

It also seemed to set a fairly appropriate mood, given the circumstances.

She took the concrete steps one at a time, letting her heeled foot slowly drop, feeling the ground push back at her, the rain push down on her…the world squeeze in on every side.

She was dying. _Again_.

She had tried _so_ hard to forget their first marriage. How they had both spiraled down into darkness and bitter hate, each only faintly remembering the beautiful, passionate days when they had first met, full of color and light; full of life. She closed her eyes, _trying_ to remember. Trying to forget.

_God, how could I have let this happen again? How could I have lost him again…?_

A sharp pain ripped through her chest and she let out an odd noise, leaning forward and hugging her middle, holding herself together. The tears she hadn't realized she was shedding were washed away in the rain, forgotten.

She sank to her knees, leaning against the nearest wall of the hospital. She didn't know where she was, exactly, but even that didn't really matter. A sob racked her body, and she gripped her exploding head in her hands as the rain poured down, down, down….it would never stop.

She was cold, heartbroken, alone.

She was sitting at the bottom of a barrel somewhere far away from the rest of the world, letting the water fill to the top, drowning her.

She hadn't let herself feel in so long, and now she began to remember why: love hurt. And it seemed it would never stop hurting her. Flashes of old boyfriends, her parents, her father…Perry….Jack…

_Jack_.

She opened her eyes, blinking against the rain.

Jack. He would be her reason for being. He would be her life. He would save her.

_Jack._

"Jordan?"

She was suddenly conscious of a pair of white sneakers and partially rain-soaked blue scrub bottoms. She looked up.

"DJ…"

* * *

Back at the apartment she shared with Turk and JD, Carla snuggled deeper into the couch, leaning into the lamplight that was illuminating the romance novel she was reading. She pulled her legs up and curled herself into a ball, practically falling into the pages as each word seemed to pull her in, deeper and deeper…

'_Oh, Carlos, how will we ever be together? You know they'll never allow it!'_

'_Veronica, love will allow it! We will be together because we are meant to be together! Fate will not allow us to be separated.'_

_Carlos pulled Veronica into his strong arms. He leaned in, opening his mouth…_

*SLAM*

"Baby, I'm home!"

Carla jumped, half of her still in fantasy land with Carlos the pool boy.

"Oh, hey, honey."

Turk leaned down to kiss Carla, and she remembered why the real thing was so much more satisfying than reading about it in a book…

Turk dropped his bag and plopped onto the couch next to her. Carla quickly shoved _Servant to Love_ under the cushion, focusing all her attention on her fiancé.

"How was your day, baby?"

"It was okay. Todd and I got to assist Dr. Wen on a gastric bypass, so that was pretty kickin'. Hey, is there something wrong with Dr. Cox?"

"Dr. Cox?" Carla shifted nervously. "I don't know. Why?"

Turk frowned.

"Well, he just tore my head off for nothing earlier today."

Carla snorted.

"That's nothing unusual, Turk. He was probably just having a bad day."

Turk shook his head.

"No, it was something else. He was almost…sad, or something. Normally you can kind of tell he doesn't really _mean_it that much. He's usually just pissed. But this time…I mean, I've never seen him so angry. But it was like he was really sad about something, too. I don't know. And he seemed really distracted..."

Carla remained silent for a minute.

"Turk, did you see Elliot today?"

"Elliot? A little this morning. Why?"

Carla chewed her lip. Maybe Dr. Cox was upset about Elliot…was that good or bad? Maybe he was hung up on her. Maybe he was battling his feelings for her, and Elliot was too and they were meant to be together but neither of them knew it and someday-

"BABY!"

Carla shook her head.

"Turk! Why are you yelling at me?"

"Carla, baby, you were out of it there for a second. You had that look on your face that JD gets all the time when he's dreaming."

"Oh. Sorry, I was just thinking."

"Carla?"

"Yeah, baby."

"Why did you ask me about Elliot?"

"Oh, well, it's nothing. I just didn't get to see her today, and you talking about Dr. Cox reminded me."

"Why did Dr. Cox remind you of Elliot?"

Carla shifted uneasily.

"No reason."

"Carla."

She could feel little beads of sweat starting to form a thin sheen over her skin.

"Y-yes, Turk?"

"Spit it out, Carla. You've got that 'I have a secret' look on your face. C'mon, baby. I know you want to tell me."

She bit her tongue, trying to keep her mouth from flying open and spilling the precious bit of gossip resting just behind her lips. _Oh, God, Carla, keep it together…you CAN'T tell Turk. It's not yours to tell…_'

"Baby…"

"GAAAAH! FINE!I'LLTELL!I'LL TELL! ELLIOTSLEPTWITHDOCTORCOXANDNOWSHELIKESHIMANDITHINKSHE TOLDHIMTHISMORNINGANDNOWHE'SDEALINGWITHALLOFHISEMOTIONSAND-"

Turk looked horrified.

"BABY! Please, baby, slow down." He grabbed her arms, trying to calm her down from her hysterical state. "Now, _slowly_, tell me what happened."

Still shaking, Carla took a breath. Almost terrified, she met Turk's eyes.

"Elliot slept with Dr. Cox."

Turk's expectant face didn't change, as if he hadn't heard anything. In fact, he didn't move at all. Carla double checked to make sure he was breathing.

"Turk? Did you hear what I said? Baby?"

"E-excuse me?" He croaked out, suddenly blinking rapidly. "Carla, I need you to repeat what you just said."

Carla pulled her arms from his now weakened grip.

"Dr. Cox and Elliot slept together a few months ago. He's been ignoring her, but she was going to talk to him about it this morning. That's why I thought he might be upset."

Turk made a funny guttural noise and his eyes rolled back into his head.

Carla ignored him, talking her way through her explanation.

"But now that I think about it, it's probably more likely because he talked to Jordan at lunch. She always puts him in a bad mood."

Turk suddenly sat bolt upright.

"Dr. Cox talked to Jordan today? At lunch?"

Carla nodded.

"Yeah. She stopped by and they had lunch in the cafeteria."

Turk gulped.

"That's where I found him, in the cafeteria, just slumped over in his chair. It must have been something she said at lunch…"

Suddenly, it hit Turk. _She must have told him about Jack! That must be it !_Turk's head whipped back to Carla, but before he could spit it out, he stopped himself. _If you tell her, she won't be able to keep her mouth shut…it'll be all over the hospital in a day…_

Turk continued staring at Carla for several more seconds.

"Turk, what is it?" Carla's chocolate eyes searched his. "Turk!"

He couldn't stop the words from stumbling out of his mouth.

"Dr. Cox is Jack's biological father."

Carla's eyes widened.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

**Hey everybody! Thanks for all you reviews and alerts! Also, huge thanks to astrum-faith for being an awesome beta and always making me feel good about my work- she's awesome!!! Now remember, I always update faster with REVIEWS….Jordan's big confrontation with JD next chapter as well as Elliot/Cox action!**


	6. It's Just Overkill

Gimme Shelter

Chapter Six: It's Just Overkill

Storyshark2005

* * *

"_Jordan?"_

_She was suddenly conscious of a pair of white sneakers and partially rain-soaked blue scrub bottoms. She looked up._

"_DJ…"_

JD stared down at the woman curled up at the base of the hospital's concrete steps. The pouring rain still hadn't ceased, and JD had to blink raindrops from his lashes to keep her in focus.

Jordan Sullivan looked frighteningly beautiful. It was nothing like her usual severe perfection, a sharp and steely radiance. This was a softer, more vulnerable Jordan. Seeing her suddenly weak, soaking wet, crying, _human,_was a disturbing image in its otherworldly beauty.

He reached out a hand.

She wiped a tear from her eye despite the rain and, ignoring JD's outstretched hand, reached up to grip the railing and hauled herself to her feet.

"Jesus, Jordan, you're soaking wet."

She sniffed roughly and glanced skyward.

"Yeah, well, that's usually what happens when it rains." She re-adjusted her purse and jacket and started to walk past JD. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to a dryer spot a few feet down the wall, under an overhang. A sheet of water continued to fall a few inches away, enclosing them between rain and stone. He could smell the rain penetrating and soaking into every pore of it, cleansing it, purifying it. He could smell Jordan's perfume, slightly dulled, radiating off her wet skin. Her dark bangs stuck to her face and her short, cropped hair hung past the sharp line of her jaw.

"Jordan, what the hell were you doing out here in the rain?"

She yanked her arm from his grip.

"That's none of your damn business, DJ. Now leave me the hell alone." She tried to edge past him but he moved to block her.

"Maybe not, but it becomes my business when you put yourself in danger and I walk by. You could've gotten pneumonia, or worse."

"Thanks for the concern. Next time I'll collapse a few feet closer to a hospital. Bye-bye." She shouldered past him, striding out into the gale of wind and water.

He stepped back into the downpour and yelled over the dull roar of the storm, which seemed to be picking up even more,

"JORDAN-"

To his surprise, she stopped. She didn't turn around or acknowledge him, but she remained standing, shoulders slumped a little. Taking that as a green light, he stepped closer and spoke with her back still turned.

He lowered his voice.

"Look, Jordan, just tell me what happened."

After a moment she replied, her voice so faint he almost missed it-

"It's over."

He cocked his head confused. A question died on his lips when he saw her purse drop from her limp hand. She swayed slightly on her feet. One knee buckled and he watched as her whole frame seemed to lose its structure and the rain pushed her down without any further resistance.

He barely reached her in time, and caught her sideways before she hit the pavement. He turned her around, lowering her to the ground. Jordan was now sobbing into his shoulder, gripping his soaked scrubs.

He needed to get her home.

Her purse lay a few feet away. He leaned as far as he could, stretching out an arm while holding Jordan in the other. _C'mon, a few more inches…._

_Got it._

He found her keys fairly easily and gripped them in one hand, looping her purse on the same arm. He hauled himself and Jordan to a standing position; he knew what her car looked like, if he could only find it…

_There._

Her black Audi R8 was parked fifty feet away. He could almost hear the German-tuned engine purring. It was classy, beautiful, but had an underlying wildness to it. It was part sophisticate, part animal, a gilded tiger.

It also had all-leather interior, which he was about to get soaking wet.

He would have picked up and carried any other woman, but Jordan would probably put her heel through his foot if he tried.

"Jordan….Jordan, you need to get up. Jordan, I can drive you home, but you need to help me out. Can you do that? C'mon Jordan, you can do this…"

She suddenly shoved him away and stumbled backward, jerkily finding her footing. Swinging around, she staggered off towards the Audi, forgetting JD and her purse behind her.

JD watched her yank the door handle a few times before he started towards the car, shaking the keys as he approached.

"You know, it's really a lot easier to open when the door is unlocked."

She rested her forehead on the slick metal. Gritting her teeth, she growled,

"If you don't hand over those keys in five seconds, you will so regret getting up this morning."

"What's over?"

"Excuse me?"

"A minute ago, you said 'it's over'. What's over?"

"Your existence in about two seconds. Now hand over the keys." She pushed herself off the car and swiped for the keys, but JD pulled them out of reach. She tried again, but he hid them behind his back.

"I'm not kidding, JD; give them back." She was starting to break. Her voice was getting tight, and he could see tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

"Not until you tell me. What's over'? Why were you just crying on the ground earlier? In the rain? _Why_, Jordan, did you just collapse in the hospital parking lot? I'm not letting you leave until you explain what the hell is going on."

She clenched her fists, turning them white.

"Dammit, JD, just give me the fucking keys! This is none of your fucking business so stay the hell away. You don't want to know anyway, trust me."

JD walked around to the passenger side, unlocked the one door and held it open.

"Get in the car Jordan. Now."

"There is no way you're driving this car, DJ."

JD, leaving the door open, closed the distance between them in five steps.

"Jordan, I'm really sick of this. Get in the fucking car; I'm driving you home."

She met his piercing glare, then glanced over his shoulder at the open door, rain currently pouring over her beautiful, plush leather interior.

Without another word she stormed over to the car and disappeared into the passenger seat. She sat there with her arms crossed, waiting.

Grinding his teeth in annoyance, JD followed behind and slammed the door shut, shaking the car. He crossed over to the drivers' side, unlocked and yanked the door open, sinking down into the seat and slamming the door.

They sat there a few moments, the dulled slap of rain on metal filling up the silence. He looked over at Jordan, who was intent on staring straight through the windshield, unblinking.

JD finally shoved the key in the ignition.

* * *

He pulled up to the apartment building, rammed the shifter into park and switched off the engine.

Jordan sat silent, her arms still crossed.

He gave her one last blue gaze, chewing the side of his cheek. She could tell he was pissed off.

He turned back to the wheel and sucked in a breath, but hesitated and let it out again.

Pulling out the keys, he threw them in her lap, shoved open the door, exited, and slammed it behind him, walking back out into the rain.

Jordan watched him go. Her chest tightened, and she knew couldn't stand feeling like this anymore. She had to do something…anything.

She ran out into the rain.

"JD!" She yelled.

He turned around.

"What?"

She closed the distance, grabbed his head and kissed him, hard.

He stumbled backwards, surprised. Her nails dug into his wet hair and she felt his hands slide her jacket off her shoulders to rest on her bare arms. He finally opened his mouth, and she ran her tongue between his bottom lip and teeth. He moaned, and his hands slipped down to her waist.

Suddenly, he pulled back, shaking his head.

"Jordan, no...just, no. I don't know what's going on, but this isn't the way to deal with it."

She slipped her hands under his shirt and kissed his collar bone. He hissed, but didn't push her away.

"Cut it out, Jordan." His voice was losing its force.

"C'mon, JD," she whispered, moving up his neck, kissing the rain from his skin.

The storm seemed to let up, easing to a light, soft shower.

"Jordan…"

He was losing, and they both knew it.

"Please….you have to stop."

She teased his lips, lightly kissing the rain from his chin, the corner of his lips…

He groaned and grabbed her face to his own, deepening the kiss as her hands slipped further up his shirt.

He pushed her back against a car, and she pushed her hips flush to his. She grazed her nails across his back under his shirt, and he leaned further into her. She ran a thumb between his hip and the waistband of his pants.

"We should…mmm, should go inside…" she mumbled between kisses.

JD pulled back, and his blue eyes were clouded with confusion and a kind of pained expression.

"God, Jordan…I can't, this is wrong. I'm so sorry…" His hands slipped from her waist.

He took a step back, then two. Giving her one last tortured look, he turned and jogged off across the parking lot. Coming to the street, he hailed for a cab. She watched him get splashed by several cars until a cab finally stopped. He yanked open the door and dropped inside. The cab pulled away and soon disappeared into traffic.

And he was gone.

"Shit. Fuck….oh god…" Jordan let out a sob. "God DAMMIT! Shit…oh fucking….Jesus..."

Gripping the car mirror, she once again sank to her knees, and let herself cry.

Finally, she pulled herself to her feet and flipped her jacket back onto her shoulders, still feeling his phantom touch. She pushed her hair from her eyes and walked back to her apartment. Jack was still at the sitters.

She was alone.

* * *

JD leaned forward and shouted an address to the cab driver. He couldn't go back to his apartment and face Turk and Carla. He needed to talk to someone.

He needed to see Elliot.

JD turned around in his seat, and gazed through the back window, watching Jordan's apartment building shrink into the distance.

'_It's over…'_

Her voice echoed in his head, and he could still feel her lips ghosting over his collar bone.

What the hell had just happened?

He _really_ needed to talk to Elliot…

* * *

Elliot flipped through the channels in a trance, staring at but not really seeing the screen. She finally shook herself after seeing Animal Planet for the fifth time.

She switched it off and threw the remote to the other side of the couch. She grabbed her glass of red wine and sipped it slowly, listening to the rain pound against the dark windows, and watched the occasional flash of lightning illuminate the city for a split second before turning back to darkness.

A crash of thunder sounded, and the lights flickered out.

"Shit…"

She set her glass down and stumbled through darkness to the kitchen. Feeling around one of the cabinets, she finally found a box of matches, dumping them out on the table. She struck one, broke it, cursed, and lit another.

After getting a few candles lit, she went back to the couch and sat with her chin in one hand and her wine in the other. She was bathed in the glow of a nearby flame, but she let her gaze settle past it where the darkness swallowed the light. She let her eyes glaze over and her mind wander.

A knock sounded at the door. Puzzled, she set her glass down and almost made it to the door, only tripping once, over a pillow between the sofa and a poofy armchair.

She opened the door and almost choked in surprise.

"Hey there, Barbie."

Dr. Cox looked up, gray meeting astonished blue. His curls were still dripping water onto his leather jacket.

"H-hey. Umm...God, come in. Jesus…sorry, you just surprised me."

He edged past her and she turned back from the closed door, watching him stand uncomfortably in the entrance.

She hid a smile as he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, reminding her so much of when he did that with his white lab coat.

"You want some wine? Or, I think I have some beer in the fridge…"

He ran a hand through his hair.

"A beer would be fantastic."

She walked over to the kitchen to get him a drink. He kicked off his shoes and shrugged off his jacket, revealing a navy blue t-shirt clinging to his chest.

Elliot allowed herself a quick onceover as she handed him the beer. He mumbled a thanks and she led him over to the couch.

"Watch your step: the power went out a few minutes ago."

"And I thought you just liked sitting in the dark staring at candles."

She snorted and dropped to the couch, picking up her glass. He sat resting his elbows on his knees. The beer remained unopened as he set it on the coffee table.

"Look, Elliot…"

His face was screwed up in a kind of tortured expression.

"I…I was thinking about what you said. About, how I should think about what I really want."

She bit her lip. She was 80% focused on what he was saying, and 20% focused on the fact that the cold beer was condensing on her coffee table without a coaster. Her eyes kept darting from his face to the beer and back again.

He turned toward her.

"Elliot, what I'm trying to say is…uh, that…"

He followed her gaze back to the beer. She quickly snapped her eyes to his face.

"Yes! You were trying to say…"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously, Barbie?"

"What?"

Both eyebrows shot up in amusement and he bit his tongue, grinning.

"You know, if it bothers you that much, you can just ga'head and put a coaster under that bottle. I think we'd both be better off if you just fixed that right now before you have conniption."

"Oh, thank god!" She reached past him and quickly slid a coaster under the beer. She folded her hands in her lap. "Great!" she cleared her throat. "You may continue."

He touched his nose and readjusted himself so he was directly facing her. He paused with his hands out in front of him, as if trying to physically form the right words as they came out of his mouth.

"Ok. I'm not really good at this…Elliot, I'm not happy. And I haven't been for a long time. A lot of that is because I've sabotaged most chances I've ever had at being happy or having a close relationship with _any_one. I tend to drive people off. And I've been an asshole to you lately."

"Lately? Try the past _two years_. And not just to me. What about JD? He adores you, and all you can do is kick him around like a puppy!"

"Look, I'm trying to open up here which just does na-HAWT happen too often, and I'd really appreciate it if you'd leave Janice out of this conversation, at least for tonight."

She crossed her arms.

"Ok, I'm listening."

He cleared his throat.

"Well, it's just….after that night, I was talking to Carla. And I was saying you weren't like most girls because you're weak. And then Carla said you're not, you just don't make me feel like shit about myself like Jordan and all the other women I'm attracted to."

"You know what? You were right: you're not good at this. If you wanted to insult me, you could've saved yourself a trip and just done that at work."

She picked up her empty wine glass and stood, intending to take it back to the kitchen.

He stood up and grabbed the glass from her hand, setting it down on the coffee table.

Elliot let out a little growl and started to lean past him to set it on a coaster. _Empty glasses can leave stains too…_

But he leaned to block her.

"Barbie, you're really not listening to what I'm saying."

She suddenly realized how close he was standing. She tried again, but he blocked her once again. His breathing had gotten considerably heavier. She could see his lashes shading his light eyes as he looked down at her.

"What are you-"

"Elliot…" he murmured. He reached out and tucked her hair behind one ear. He leaned closer and spoke softly in her ear.

"….you need to….shut…up…and listen to what I am trying to tell you…"

His proximity was really making it hard for her to concentrate, much less form coherent words or sentences.

"W-well, it, uh, sounds like the same crap you're always saying to me." She turned her head slightly to look him in the eyes. "So if you want to say something important…just say it."

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* *KNOCK KNOCK*

A sudden banging sounded on the door and Perry's hand pulled from her ear and he leaned back to a safer proximity.

"Are you…expecting someone? It's, like, eleven thirty."

She shook her head and stepped past him, almost tripping on her way to the door. Resting one hand on the knob, she peered through the peep-hole.

She jerked her head back, surprised.

"What the…?"

Quickly unlocking the deadbolt, she yanked open the door.

JD looked up, completely soaked to the skin, hair dripping.

"Hey, Elliot, we need to talk.

He stepped past a speechless Elliot, who turned quickly back to Dr. Cox as JD entered the room.

"Look, JD, this isn't really a good time-"

He noticed her gaze shift, and glanced over his shoulder.

"What- Dr. Cox? What the hell are you doing here? Y-" he broke off, looking between the two of them.

Cox just shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. He raised an eyebrow at Elliot.

"W-uh….JD…you see…" Elliot searched for the right words, but couldn't seem to find any.

JD glanced around the room, to the beer, the empty wine glass, the candles (which he understandably misinterpreted).

JD's blue eyes widened. He looked from Elliot to Dr. Cox, and his mouth dropped open.

Elliot cringed.

"Oh…my….God…"

* * *

**All right, I know you guys have thoughts about this chapter, so HIT ME WITH IT if you want this to continue. Huge thanks once again to astrum-faith, she really keeps me going and encouraged. OK, I KNOW some people are going to have issues with the JD/Jordan scene. I just thought Jordan would resort to her old habit of sex solving all problems attitude. TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK? And don't worry, I know you think I'm teasing you with the Elliot/Cox situation, but I can't very well have jump into it right away, can I? It'll happen. Remember the issues here-**

**Dr. Cox still doesn't know that Jack is his. **

**Who does know? Jordan, JD, Turk, and Carla. That's it. **

**Of course, Elliot/Cox relationship and how that's going to affect everyone around them. Especially JDs relationship with Cox, and his friendship/infatuation with Elliot. **

**Tell me what you think of a JD/Jordan angry affair. Possible, or cliché? Or just wrong?**


	7. Cry Love

Gimme Shelter

Chapter 7: Cry Love

Storyshark2005

'_**the trust of a woman, in his hand**_

_**but he was a little boy, and not a man**_

_**you loved him stronger, than he could feel**_

_**yeah he was wrapped up in himself**_

_**like an orange peel'**_

_**John Hiatt**_

*** * ***

_JD glanced around the room, to the beer, the empty wine glass, the candles (which he understandably misinterpreted)._

_JD's blue eyes widened. He looked from Elliot to Dr. Cox, and his mouth dropped open._

_Elliot cringed._

"_Oh…my….God…"_

"JD….wait! It's not what you think. I-"

Suddenly, the lights flickered on. A fan in the next room hummed back to life.

Elliot sighed. _Thank God…_

"Well, there you go. The power's back on- Dr. Cox and I were just…"

Perry cocked his head and gave her a look.

"….were just…uh, talking. About a-a…case. Yeah, it was mine but I was having him, uh, you know double check a few things on it. You know how metabolic disorders aren't really my thing."

His eyebrows were rising farther and farther up his forehead.

Elliot shoved her hands in her jeans.

"So, I think that's about it…" She turned to look at Perry.

He gave a snort of disgust and elbowed past her, ignoring JD altogether. He paused in front of the doorway. His voice cracked dryly,

"Yeah, Barbie, that's about it."

He grabbed his coat roughly and didn't look back as the door slammed shut behind him.

Elliot groaned and buried her face in her hands as she collapsed back down on the couch.

JD looked from the door back to Elliot.

"What the hell was that all about? And why are you going to Cox for metabolic diseases? You know he isn't great with those. Remember that time with Dr. Casey…hey, are you OK?"

Elliot mumbled into her hands.

"I'm fine, JD. Just…" – she looked up at him - "what do you need?"

He dropped onto the seat next to her and picked up the beer that was still condensing on the coaster. Elliot watched it sadly as she listened to JD's voice.

"I just….I needed to talk to you. I had kind of a weird day."

Elliot looked up and smiled.

"Oh, JD, I don't know if your day could have possibly been weirder than mine…but tell me about it." She leaned sideways against his shoulder as he spoke, feeling the low vibration of his voice hum against her cheek and reverberate in her chest.

"Well, I got out of the hospital around 7. And I…uh…" JD hesitated. He suddenly found himself reluctant to tell Elliot what had happened with Jordan. Just a few minutes ago he had been so eager to get it off his chest, relieve himself of the burden of that afternoon's memories. He shared _everything_with Elliot. Always. And yet…

He couldn't do it.

Elliot looked back up at JD, puzzled, waiting for him to continue.

"What's wrong, JD?"

He looked down into her pale, soft blue eyes. Warm memories of Elliot laughing, working, kissing him, soft, light, ethereal, flicked through his head, suddenly interrupted by the sharp, intrusive and cold picture of Jordan standing in the rain, angry but undeniably beautiful. Defiant. He saw her dark eyes framed by almost black hair. Black coat. Black heels.

He slammed a wall down in his brain, shutting out all thoughts and images of her. He only knew they were _wrong_, and he had to stop them somehow.

Well, there was _one_ way.

"JD?"

So he decided to kiss her.

He leaned forward and just went for it, full on the mouth. _C'mon, JD, this is your dream girl! You're meant to be together. Kiss her! You both want it. Oh, yes sir, no one can resist the John Dorian 'lean in and kiss them senseless' move. Yes, JD, you've still got it-_

His internal monologue was still running when he realized Elliot was pulling away and shoving him across the couch.

"JD, WHAT THE HELL!?" she screeched.

"Uh…" _Oops. Ok, so maybe that didn't work as well as I'd hoped. Quick! Kiss her again so she'll forget about what just happened…_

JD leaned in for another one.

"JD! GOD…mmph, NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Elliot pushed him back once again and stood, almost tripping over the coffee table as she backed away from the couch.

JD stood, grasping at straws.

"Elliot, please, I'm sorry. But I had to do it. I _need_ you. You're THE one, and I can't let you go again. I was stupid before, and I can't just be sex buddies or friends anymore. You are perfect and beautiful, and you're my dream girl. I can't…let you go."

Elliot's eyes widened.

"JD, you've got to be kidding me."

He stepped closer to her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Elliot, I love you. And I want us to be together. Please, can't we try this again?"

She shook her head and gently pulled his hands down.

"JD, stop. No."

"Elliot, just listen to me. I love-"

"NO, JD. You don't love me. You don't. You can't."

"Yes, I can. And I do."

"No, you don't. And, no, you can't."

"Elliot-"

"STOP, JD. Just, just stop it. I don't feel that way about you. You're my best friend, and maybe at one time I did. But we screwed up, and it just didn't work out. We aren't meant to be together. We never were."

"But we can try again, Elliot. I know what I want this time."

"No you don't, JD! That's just it! You have this beautiful, _impossible_ fantasy of us, and it's perfect and wonderful….but that's all it is, JD. One of your fantasies. It's a dream. And you need to wake up."

JD felt a sharp pain cut through his chest. He felt his heart breaking.

His throat shut and he realized he couldn't speak. Elliot's eyes were searching his, waiting for a response.

"I'm so sorry, JD. God…I'm just….not in love with you anymore. JD, please say something. Anything?"

He looked at her, half devastated, half curious at the terrible sensations rushing through his body. Pain, disbelief, and an odd desire to burst out laughing. He blinked a few times, trying somehow to clear the room of the fog that was creeping in on the edge of his vision. He could see Elliot's mouth moving now, but he couldn't hear anything.

Numbly, he picked up his bag and started for the door, sliding past Elliot, who was still staring at him.

He vaguely remembered shutting the door on Elliot, floating down some flights of stairs, and then standing once again in the rain.

But this time it was completely dark outside.

* * *

Perry stared down into the familiar amber depths of his glass of scotch. Maybe this time he would find what he was looking for One more drink….a little closer to the answer, perhaps?

A buzzing noise interrupted his têt-à-têt with his scotch. He pulled his cell from his back pocket.

_New Message from Barbie._

He opened the message.

_I'm sorry. I set JD straight about us. Please come over - we should talk._

He flipped the phone shut. So she told Newbie….that was a start, at least.

He downed the rest of his drink and threw some money on the counter. He barely even felt the burning liquid slide down his throat.

He had some serious thinking to do.

He popped the collar of his leather jacket up around his neck and shoved the old wooden door open, leaving the smoky bar for the cold of the night.

* * *

Jordan kicked her shoes off as she stepped into her dim apartment and collapsed on the couch, the only piece of furniture in the bare living room. It had been awhile since she last spent a night here. She watched the fading light through the floor-to-ceiling windows across the room. It wasn't much of a sight: just a light gray overcast sky turning to a darker shade of gray. Sometimes, though, the sunsets were really spectacular to see in the evenings. It was one of the reasons she had bought it in the first place.

She let her head slide down the back of the couch and the room turned itself upside down. The blood rushing to her brain gave her an oddly pleasant numbing sensation.

She knew she really _should_ go pick up Jack, but even if she didn't, this wasn't the first time Jack would have spent the night at the sitter's house. Jessica was a lifesaver, and somehow didn't find it odd when Jordan or Perry called late asking her to watch him for the night.

Her eyes unfocused, and behind her eyes she started to see…blue. Something….blue. She relaxed her eyes even more and let her brain drift, fuzzy images floating and disappearing through her mind.

Eyes. Blue eyes.

That stupid kid and his ridiculously sad blue eyes. JD's wide blue eyes, wet black hair sticking up in damp spikes….

She had to stop this stupid daydreaming.

She vaguely wondered if Carlos still lived across the hall with his mother….

No, she really didn't feel like seducing him, she realized. Now that was very odd. What the hell was wrong with her?

She gave a tremendous sigh and rolled off the couch. Time to go pick up her son.

* * *

JD stumbled in a haze through the dark streets, vaguely aware he was headed for the bar a few blocks down from the hospital. _Maybe a few appletinis will make me feel better. Oh, sweet appletinis, you're always happy to see me, aren't you?_

He shifted his eyes down as he approached a dark figure walking the opposite way down the sidewalk. The figure stopped a few feet away, and JD kept walking, giving the man some space. _What a weirdo…_

"Newbie?"

JD started and whipped around, almost tripping over his feet. Dr. Cox was revealed in the shadowy light, looking as surprised to see JD as he was to see Cox.

"Dr. Cox?! What are you doing out here?" He blinked, forcing himself to clear his mind and focus on the odd situation before him.

"I was just heading back over to Barbie's. She texted me that you guys, uh, had a talk."

JD shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, uh, we did. Why….why did she tell you? In fact," JD stepped towards Cox, accusingly. "I don't think you were talking about metabolics, were you? What the hell is going on with you two?"

"Wait, hold on. I thought you said she told you?"

"We talked about _us,_which is really none of your business. What do you think we talked about?"

Dr. Cox shifted uncomfortably. "Well, apparently there's just been a whole-oHOLE- lot of confusion and I'm not at liberty to say exactly….you should talk to you gal pal-"

"No, Dr. Cox. I want to hear it right now, because I'm still a little confused. One minute you're at her apartment late at night, which is just WEIRD in the first place, not to mention you using some stupid excuse about studying metabolic diseases, which is not even your area of expertise anyway. Then, Elliot just out and tells me that it's never gonna happen with me and her, and NOW you're on your way to see her. You're going to give me an explanation NOW. I'm not waiting to hear it from Elliot."

The older doctor groaned and ran a hand through his hair.

"Look, Newbie, to tell you the truth, I don't know exactly what's going on either. I mean, I do but it's not just straightforward. It's….well, it's weird."

JD crossed his arms. A cold breeze whipped through his dark hair, and he hugged himself tighter.

"Go on."

"JD…" he paused, trying to find the right words. JD straightened with the use of his real name. _This isn't good…_

"JD, a few months ago, I got pretty drunk. And, uh, Barbie and I, we…well, she was drunk, too. And, uh…." He let out a low whistle. "Boy, this is, well you're not going to believe-"

JD's eyes were wide, disbelieving. _You've GOT to be kidding me…holy mother of make believe…_

"UH, well, you get the idea."

"Oh………..….my…………………..GOD! HOLY…….No. Just……no. That can't….she wouldn't…..YOU…and _both_ of you…" He let out an agonized cry and clamped his hands over his ears, dropping to his knees. Dr. Cox awkwardly looked around.

"Look, Newbie, I know you're taking this kind of hard, but-"

JD's ears filled with white noise as he watched his mentor's mouth move. He couldn't hear, and he certainly couldn't think. He remembered standing up, still glaring, reaching back with his fist, and feeling it solidly connect with something hard.

He also remembered the cracking of bone in his right hand.

"GGAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! OOHHHH FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUoh oh oh oh….OOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!" JD clutched his fist and hopped around, yelping and screaming. His fist was on fire, shooting white hot pains jolting up his arm with every heartbeat.

Dr. Cox was holding his head back, trying to control his now bleeding and bruised nose. "OOhhhh…..fuck. Newbie, goddammit….." He stumbled backwards a bit, his head still spinning from the blow. "Oh, you will soh-OH pay for this, Newbie, I swear to GOD."

JD's good hand squeezed tighter around his other wrist in a futile attempt to cut off the pain from the rest of his arm.

"Oh, shut up."

* * *

Jordan strode deliberately up the nurse's station where Janice, another nurse, was flipping through a chart. She looked up as Jordan reached the counter.

"Well, where the hell is he?"

Janice smirked and motioned her to follow.

"Oh, they're both getting patched up by Dr. Mickhead." She walked across the room and pulled back a curtained off partition to reveal Cox and JD sitting on identical beds. Mickhead was prodding Perry's face while JD was giving him the death glare, still clutching his own now-bandaged hand.

"Mickhead, I would swear on my father's grave that if you poke my nose one more time, I'm going to put you in a serious world of hurt. Unfortunately, I didn't bother going to the funeral and I don't know exactly _where_ he's buried. So you'll have to take my word for it."

Mickhead stepped back, annoyed and picked up his chart, scratching notes.

"Perry, you're a doctor, so you know that I'm ordering an x-ray on that nose. I can't tell if the displacement has damaged any facial bones; the kid may very well have fractured you ethmoid bone."

JD grinned. Mickhead shut his chart and stuck his pen back in his pocket. He strode off, muttering under his breath.

Perry grabbed more gauze and laid gingerly back on the bed, shutting his eyes and held it over his nose, letting out an exhausted groan.

Jordan set her purse down and approached his bed.

"DJ really did a number on you, didn't he, Per?"

Perry cracked open one eye.

"Who opened the Gates of Oblivion and let you in? Don't you have some souls to be stealing?"

She grinned evilly.

"Just yours, Perry."

He growled and shut his eyes. Jordan played with his curls absently, and glanced up to see JD staring at her. Not glaring. There was no hostility in his wide blue eyes. Just….intensity. And something else she couldn't quite place.

She cleared her throat and looked back down at a very exhausted Perry.

His breathing lengthened out, and he muttered something quietly. She leaned down to hear.

"Perry? I can't understand you. You'll have to speak clearer…"

His eyes still closed, she made out between sleepy breaths.

"Jordan….hmmm, I want to…..be…..in his….life. Jack's……father….I want…..to be there…."

She leaned back. _Oh God, I'm going to have to tell him sooner or later…_ She looked up to once again meet JD's intense gaze. He didn't blink as he said in a raw voice,

"You should tell him."

She bit her lip, and looked back down at Perry, who was now almost completely asleep.

"I know."

She pulled her hand away from Perry's bed, and walked over to JD. His eyes stayed on her as she approached.

She sat on the end of Perry's bed, facing JD, who shifted to sit directly across from her.

"How's the hand?"

"Ok, I guess. It still hurts like a mother frakker."

"A what?"

"Oh, nothing. You'd have to watch Battlestar Galactica to get it…" JD tilted his head to the side and went off into fantasy land. After a few seconds, Jordan snapped her fingers, annoyed.

"DJ! Hey, snap out of it! Hey!"

He shook himself and muttered,

"…..cylon temptress…"

She rolled her eyes.

"Jordan," JD had gone back to a serious tone. "I think maybe we should talk about earlier. I'm kind of, uh, confused. About what….happened."

"DJ, I was using you. I was angry, upset, and generally when that happens I grab the nearest person or tree and try to have sex with it. Or him. Or her, I suppose, if it came down to it."

JD grimaced.

"Fine, if you want to pretend it never happened, I can deal with that."

Jordan smiled sunnily,

"Now you're really getting me, JD. Feelings in the bottle, screw the cap on tight."

Suddenly, a high pitched squeal sliced through their conversation.

"OH MY GOD, JD!" Elliot ran over, looking flustered. Perry remained on the bed, but clamped his hands over his ears.

"JANICECALLEDANDSAIDYOUTWOWEREHURTANDIWASSOWORRIEDSOICAMEASFASTASICOULD-"

"ELLIOT!"

"BARBIE!"

Perry and JD yelled out in unison. Elliot blew her bangs out of her face, annoyed.

"What!?"

Cox grabbed a pillow and smothered it over his face.

JD ignored him.

"Elliot, we're fine. Just stop talking so loud- we can't understand you. Janice called you and Jordan here because we can't drive home. I just fractured a couple of bones in my hand and Dr. Cox is getting an x-ray on his face in a few minutes."

Elliot looked from JD's hand to Perry. She walked over to the older doctor's bedside and snatched the pillow off his face.

She gasped and whipped angrily around to JD.

"OH MY GOD!! JD…did you _PUNCH HIM_ _IN THE FACE??!"_

Jordan interrupted gleefully,

"Oh, he did, Stick, he did indeed. DJ finally proved that he's got some balls. He really gave Per-Per there a pretty good shiner."

Perry snatched the pillow back from Elliot but she grabbed it before he could hide his face again. He groaned and rolled over on his side, turning his back to all of them.

JD cleared his throat as Mickhead approached, flipping his chart open.

"Alright, Dr. Dorian, you can go home. Here's a prescription for some painkillers if you need them. Perry, you'll have to stay for a while longer and have that x-ray done."

Jordan crossed her arms.

"Mickface, how long is this going to take? My son is still at the babysitter's. I was going to pick him up when you guys called me down here, and it's getting really late."

Elliot interrupted.

"I can stay and take Dr. Cox home, if you'd like. That way you can just drop JD off now and go pick up Jack."

JD glared but Jordan seemed taken aback.

"Well, thanks, Blondie. That's very sweet of you. I think I may have to take you up on that." She turned to JD. "C'mon, David, let's go get your happy pills. Goliath was getting grumpy anyway."

Jordan shouldered her purse, took the elbow of JD's good arm, and they walked off toward the pharmacy, prescription in hand.

* * *

The wheel chair was a no-go. Perry would have none of that. There's an old saying that doctors make the worst patients. Take that 'worst' and multiply it by about a thousand times, and you would have some idea of the night the on-call radiologist was having.

Dr. Patrick Orth, a tall, attractive doctor despite approaching the age of fifty, had heard of Perry Cox up in internal medicine. He had actually met him on the few occasions when Cox had bothered to actually come down to radiology in person instead of sending a nurse or a tech. Orth had prided himself on never judging people before he really knew them, either on rumors or first impressions.

Dr. Orth did not know Perry Cox very well.

Dr. Orth was starting to _hate_ Dr. Perry Cox.

He _did_, however, know Elliot Reid. She had come down with him, effectively playing the barrier between Cox's attitude and the radiology department. He had always liked Elliot Reid very much. She was a beautiful, brilliant, vibrant young doctor. Quite a breath of fresh air.

He did not quite understand, then, why she was using her night off to accompany her angry colleague for a facial x-ray. While studying the image of Cox's x-ray on his computer, Orth allowed his eyes to drift over the monitor and watch the two doctors bicker in lowered voices several feet away. He was sitting up on a chair by the x-ray machine. Elliot was standing with her arms crossed, looking annoyed as they murmured under their breaths. He noticed Reid's overly concerned eyes as she leaned over and studied Cox's nose. She frowned and gently turned his face to the side. He hissed in pain and leaned away from her hands.

He turned his attention back to the computer, pushing suspicious thoughts aside as he concentrated on his job.

* * *

His face hurt like hell.

And to top it off, Dr. Barbie was here to prattle on the entire ride home. _Thank you, Jordan…_

That overpaid computer tech Dr. Orth had sent him home after resetting his nose and handing him a prescription. Bottle in hand, he was now walking across the dark hospital parking lot toward Elliot Reid's car. It could've been a perfectly quiet trip back to his apartment. But _no,_Barbie had some ridiculous obligation to fill up perfectly good silence with her high pitched, incessantly naggy voice.

So now his head was starting to hurt, too.

He grimaced and pulled the bottle of pain killers from his back pocket and shook a few into his hand. He popped them back and swallowed them dry.

Elliot's squeaky speech stopped abruptly.

"Aren't you supposed to wait a few hours? You took like three of those twenty minutes ago."

Perry shook his head and looked at her with disbelief.

"OH, my GOSH, are you a _doctor_? Because, honest to god, I can't seem to find one around here. Tha-HANK goodness I found you, because I was just about to give up and take the whole bottle. The labels are just so darned hard to read that it's just easier to guess how many to take. Don't-cha think?"

She rolled her eyes and pulled her keys out as they approached the car.

"So, what reason did you give JD to actually _punch_ you? I mean, I assume he knows we slept together now…" She unlocked the door and dropped down into the seat.

Cox paused while she unlocked the door before dropping into the passenger seat and continued the conversation.

"Well, no, actually. She was just angry because she found out that physically, well, she's really a man."

Elliot started the car and pulled out of the parking spot.

"Fine, act like a five year old. When you're ready to have a big-boy conversation, you just let me know."

Perry sulked for a few blocks, slouching down in his seat and staring out the window.

Elliot watched while he opened his mouth several times, about to shout something out before closing it again. Finally, he spoke.

"You said you set him straight about us! What the hell were you talking about if it wasn't us sleeping together? Because according to _my_ broken nose, he didn't know about that until I told him."

Elliot's mouth formed a little 'O'.

"Ohh….I see. Well, it's funny," she laughed a little nervously. "When I said 'us', I was talking about me and JD. I kind of told him I wasn't ever going to go out with him again. I would say I broke up with him but we aren't really going out. I suppose I should've clarified…haha, because _you_ thought when I said 'us' I meant you and me! I see why that would be confusing." She swallowed and continued. "It's just that when I text, I like to simplify things down to as few words as possible. Like when I told my mom that Barry and his boyfriend and I were going to Vegas so they could get married, I said 'L-O-L, Barry and I going to L-V, as in Vegas, to, like the number, a wedding.' Of course, she took that WAY wrong and completely FREAKED out-"

Elliot was cut off by the loud persistent banging of Perry's head on the passenger window.

"STOP THAT! You're going to hurt your face!"

He continued.

"Barbie…"

BANG

"…I'm trying…"

BANG

"…to hammer…"

BANG

"…your squeaky voice…"

BANG

"…out of my head…"

BANG

Elliot was getting panicky.

"STOP THAT!"

BANG

"I mean it. If you don't-"

BANG

"QUIT IT!" Elliot shrieked.

BANG

She jerked the wheel sharply to the right, pulling off to the curb. Thankfully, the street was almost deserted in the early hours of the morning. The radio read 4:45am.

Elliot rammed the shifter into park and turned square in her seat to face an angry looking Perry.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM!?"

He blinked innocently.

"I'm sorry, _is_there a problem?"

Elliot fumed, trying to find a biting comeback, but she could think of none. Instead, she just turned angrily back to the wheel and pulled back onto the road toward Perry's apartment.

There was no more banging of anyone's head on the windows.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of silence, they pulled up to his apartment building.

She shut off the engine.

More silence.

Finally,

"…..Thank you."

Pause.

"For what?"

"For not hitting him back. That was very sweet of you."

"You're welcome."

He paused for another moment, unsure of what else to say.

"Do you, uh….want to…?" he trailed off.

"Absolutely."

They would argue later about who kissed whom first, but, however it started, thirty seconds later Elliot was crawling over the seat into Perry's lap, lips locked firmly onto his.

His hands were tangled into her hair, sliding down her sides, resting on her waist. He fumbled for the door handle and they both tumbled out onto the sidewalk. He tried to mumble an apology but she was already on top of him, kicking the door shut with her foot.

The ride had begun.

* * *

**A/N: THANKS TO ALL MY REVIEWERS! And anyone who put this story on alert or added it to their favorites! I LOVE IT!!! And to all of you who had so much patience with the ridiculous amount of time it took me to write this. Thanks again to my beta, astrum-faith. She is also wonderfully patient with me, and catches the silly things I leave out.********Also let me give a quick plug for this ship. I've seen a couple great Elliox one shots out there- let's keep them going! Anyone who wants to try this ship really should. We all love JDox, but an experiment in something new is always fun and exciting.**


End file.
